The Breakup
by Another Bechloe Shipper
Summary: AU: Jesse breaks up with Beca. Beca finds solace somewhere she hadn't expected. Lots of canon elements, but definitely an AU.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is loosely based on my own experience with heartbreak. It's an AU, but it has a lot of canon in it.

* * *

It was Monday, Valentine's Day, and Beca was excited to spend another one with her longtime boyfriend Jesse. They'd been together for 3 ½ years. They were seniors together at Barden University. Jesse had secured a job in LA after graduation, and Beca was working hard at her internship at Residual Heat Recording Studio. They went out for a nice dinner and then spent the night together in Jesse's apartment.

The week went on as usual with classes and Bella rehearsals for Beca, Treble rehearsals for Jesse. Normally, the Bellas would get together with the Treblemakers every Friday night. This particular Friday, though, the Bellas had an extra rehearsal. They hadn't quite finished the choreography for their set for the regionals, and they wanted to take some more time to get it down. This would give the girls the weekend to practice it on their own, rather than having to wait until the following Monday to finish. The Bellas agreed they'd meet the Treblemakers later that evening.

The Bellas met the Trebles at a nearby Denny's. Jesse didn't pay much attention to Beca, but she didn't pay a lot of attention to him either. She was too busy discussing the choreography with the other Bellas. They finished their food and everyone left. Beca drove Emily back to her dorm and then headed to her apartment. She shared it with Fat Amy, a fellow Bella. Fat Amy was at her boyfriend Bumper's for the evening. Beca was looking forward to just relaxing after a really tiring week. When she pulled into the parking lot at her apartment complex, she saw Jesse sitting in his car, parked on the street. She was really confused as to what he could be doing there, but she got in the car when he motioned for her to get in.

"I don't want to date you anymore," he said. Beca felt her soul drop. She was shocked. Truth be told, she hadn't been happy in the relationship for several months, but the words were still soul-crushing. "We haven't been interacting like a couple for a while."

"I guess I've been feeling that way too," said Beca, still numb with shock.

"We can still be friends if you want," said Jesse.

"I don't think so," said Beca. She got out of the car and angrily slammed the door. She walked angrily up the steps to her apartment building.

When she got into the apartment, she didn't even cry. She was just numb with shock. She needed someone to talk to, but Fat Amy was at Bumper's. She knew better than to even try to interrupt that. She texted Emily. She figured Emily was likely still up since she had just dropped her off. Emily was young, and they weren't that close, but she could really use a listening ear.

 _B: I know it's late, but I need someone to talk to. Are you still up?  
_ _Legacy: Yeah.  
_ _B: Can I call you?  
_ _Legacy: Sure._

"Hey, Beca, what's up?"

"Jesse broke up with me," said Beca, shocking herself with how calm she sounded.

"He what?" asked Emily.

"He broke up with me," she repeated. "He was parked in the lot at my apartment complex after I dropped you off, and he motioned for me to get in the car. The first words out of his mouth once I got in were 'I don't want to date you anymore.'"

"Oh my stars, are you okay?"

"I don't know. I think I'm in shock."

Emily let Beca vent about what a jerk Jesse was. She listened to Beca complain that she should have dumped him first, and a lot of other things that probably only made sense to Beca. Beca thought Emily was very sweet to let Beca complain and never bothered to point out that Beca had been contradicting herself.

"Oh, shit, I just realized I'm going to have to go to my cousin Jordyn's wedding without a date. Ugh. I really don't want to spend the whole afternoon answering the questions about Jesse."

"You could take someone else," suggested Emily.

"I bet Chloe would like to go," said Beca.

"Probably. You talk about her all the time. I bet she'd be fun to bring."

"What do you mean I talk about her all the time?"

"Beca, you're always telling me that Chloe's cute, and if you were into girls, Jesse would have a reason to be jealous."

"I do not."

"You do."

"Oh. I don't know." Beca glanced at the clock. "Okay, Legacy, it's getting late. I shouldn't keep you up. You get some sleep, and I'll try. I don't expect I'll be too successful, but it's not fair to keep you up."

"Okay," said Emily, yawning. "Good night."

"Good night. Thanks for talking to me. I feel a little better already."

"That's good," said Emily. She ended the call.

* * *

She was right that she didn't sleep much that night. She put the TV on, but there was nothing on in the wee hours of Saturday morning. She finally nodded off about an hour after hanging up with Emily but woke up around the same time she normally got up during the week. She fixed a small breakfast but hardly ate any of it. She spent a lot of her morning on her laptop working on new music mixes. She figured it would be easier to just try and take her mind off of things.

She made herself some lunch, but she picked at it too. She never could eat when she was nervous or upset. After giving up on trying to eat lunch, she headed to her dad's. She'd promised him and Sheila that she'd join them for her stepbrother's birthday celebration. He was turning ten, and they'd arranged for him and five other classmates to see a kids' movie that afternoon and then get pizza. Beca had agreed to come along to have an extra pair of hands available. Beca was less than thrilled to be spending her afternoon with a bunch of ten-year-olds, but she welcomed the distraction.

She arrived at her dad's, and he could tell she was upset. "Jesse broke up with me!" she told her dad, and then immediately burst into tears, crying for the first time since Jesse had told her it was over. "He doesn't love me!" she wailed. Her dad pulled her into a hug.

"Hi, Beca," said Sam, Beca's stepbrother. He turned to his mother. "What's wrong with Beca?"

Sheila redirected Beca's stepbrother to his room, respecting their privacy. Beca got along better with Sheila than she had when her dad first remarried, but she certainly wasn't a "second mom" to her. Her dad fixed her a cup of coffee.

"Here, have this," said Beca's dad. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Beca shrugged.

"Okay, we can just sit if you want," he said.

"He's a jerk," said Beca, wiping her eyes with the tissue her father had handed her. She'd mostly stopped crying at this point.

"I figure you probably noticed, but I really didn't like Jesse. I'd learned to tolerate him."

"Yeah," said Beca. "You never told me why."

"Honestly, it's nothing I could ever put a finger on. I guess he just gave me a bad feeling. I never thought he treated you like you deserved."

Beca sniffled. Her dad continued. "It breaks my heart to see you so upset, no matter what I thought about you dating Jesse."

Beca nodded. "Thanks," she said weakly.

"I'm really glad you came to Sam's party anyway. I think it will help get your mind off things. Why don't you go up and say hi to Sam? He's probably worried."

"You know I love my stepbrother. Of course, I came out to help. I'll go up and see him." She headed to her stepbrother's room.

"Hi, Sam."

"Hi, Beca," he said. "Are you okay?"

Beca sighed. "No, but I will be. Are you excited for today?"

"Yes!" Sam exclaimed with a big grin. He was always so excited to see Beca.

Sam's face turned serious. "What's wrong? Why aren't you okay?"

"Jesse's not my boyfriend anymore, Sam. I'm pretty sad about it."

"Oh," said Sam, thoughtfully. "Well, if he made you sad, then I don't like him either!" He crossed his arms and made an exaggerated angry face.

Beca smiled. Her stepbrother was awfully cute sometimes. "Thanks, Sam," she said, giving him a hug. "You're a good kid."

She took her own car to the movies. Her dad and stepmom had convinced her to take her car so she could transport a few of the kids to the pizza place. She was also less than thrilled about this idea, but she couldn't turn Sam down when he asked her so earnestly. She met Sam and his friends in the lobby at the theater. Sheila had already purchased tickets and candy for everyone in advance, so they went straight to the theater.

Beca sat with the kids and helped Sheila pass out candy. They had bought six packs of candy ahead of time so they could avoid the lines at the snack bar. When the lights went down and the movie started, Beca found herself nodding off. After a night of practically no sleep, even coffee wasn't enough to keep her awake for a kids' movie. She was awake just as the movie ended, relieved that the kids didn't seem to have noticed she'd fallen asleep. She put a fake smile on her face and asked who wanted to ride in her car. She did have one rule, though. _She_ got to pick the music. Sam immediately asked to ride with Beca, and one other kid went with him. The rest of the kids rode with Dr. and Mrs. Mitchell. Beca pulled up one of her mixes on her phone and plugged it into the car's sound system, making sure to choose a clean one. Sam proudly told his friend Michael that Beca had made the mash-up herself. Michael said, "Wow, Sam! Beca is the coolest!" Beca just laughed to herself. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

Beca, Sam, and Michael met everyone at the pizza place. Beca managed to eat a slice of pizza and sip a soda. She ended up popping two aspirin shortly after. Her head was pounding. Her dad looked at her sympathetically. "Well, honey, just remember you're rid of one BIG headache now." Beca managed a weak smile.

The other kids' parents picked them up after pizza, so Beca drove herself back to her apartment alone. Just as she walked in the door, Fat Amy grabbed her into a bear hug. "I can't believe Jesse dumped you! I'm going to kick his ass!"

"How did you find out?" asked Beca.

"Legacy texted everyone last night after you got off the phone. Why didn't you call me, your best friend?" asked Fat Amy.

"I know better than to even _try_ to contact you when you're at Bumper's," said Beca.

"Good point. The Bellas are taking you out tonight to get your mind off of Jesse. Go get changed."

"But I don't want to go out. Can't I just sit here and wallow?"

"Nope. We took a vote, and we're taking you out."

"Why didn't I get a vote?"

"Not how it works, Shawshank. Now get ready to go out."

Beca knew there was no arguing with Fat Amy when she set her mind to something. Just before she got dressed, she noticed a few texts from Jesse. They must have come in while she'd been asleep at the movies with Sam and his friends.

 _Asshole Ex: Hey! I got a cool new app I want to show you.  
_ _Asshole Ex: The Trebles and I are going to the movies tonight. Do you and the Bellas want to join us?_

So much for him accepting that she didn't want to be friends. She ignored him, hoping he'd get the message. She changed out of her flannel and skinny jeans and into a black shirt and plaid skirt. Fat Amy drove, and they met the Bellas at a nearby karaoke bar. All the Bellas took turns buying Beca shots. Soon Beca was drunk and definitely not thinking about Jesse or anything else, for that matter. They took turns singing various karaoke songs. Beca went up and sang "Titanium" by David Guetta. She hadn't quite gotten to the chorus when she found Chloe had joined her, harmonizing. She knew Chloe was an amazing singer, but she had no idea Chloe even knew this song. She locked eyes with Chloe while they sang, and Beca soon forgot anyone else was even in the room.

Beca talked to Chloe after they were done. "You know David Guetta?"

"That song is my jam, my lady jam," replied Chloe. "It really builds." Normally Beca would have been a little grossed out, but after the alcohol and singing with Chloe, she found herself surprisingly turned on.

"Oh? I'll keep that in mind," Beca said, winking. _Where did that come from?_ Beca had known Chloe for years, but she hadn't really thought of her like that. Was she bi? Was Chloe bi? She couldn't think about it anymore; she was way too drunk. Beca was so thrown off by this that she forgot to say anything to Chloe about her cousin's wedding.

The Bellas all left the bar at closing time and headed back to their dorms or apartments. Beca was happy that Fat Amy had agreed to be the designated driver. Usually, Fat Amy was the first one downing shots. Before Beca went to bed, she saw there were more texts from Jesse. He had switched from stupid small talk.

 _Asshole Ex: I guess you're avoiding me now._

 _Duh,_ thought Beca. She didn't respond, hoping Jesse would get the message this time.

* * *

The next morning Beca woke up with a really nasty hangover. Fat Amy had been nice enough to leave her some aspirin and a glass of water. This really wasn't like her, and Beca was touched at her consideration. She downed the aspirin and laid back down. Once the pounding in her head was reduced to a dull ache, she made her way out of her bedroom to the kitchen. She picked at some toast for breakfast. She hadn't really gained her appetite back yet, and the hangover wasn't helping.

"Up and at 'em, Beca! You have to get ready!" said Amy, holding Beca's Bella uniform.

"Ready for what?" asked Beca, groaning.

"We're singing the National Anthem at the Barden University gymnastics meet," replied Fat Amy. "I'm even going to try to correctly sing the words this time!" Fat Amy was from Australia and hadn't really tried hard to learn the words in the nearly four years she'd been in the US.

Beca groaned. "I'm not going."

"Yes you are!" said Fat Amy. "Otherwise you'll be sitting around the apartment moping, and I won't have it." Beca gave in and quickly got into her uniform and put her hair up. She tried applying some extra makeup to hide the dark circles under her eyes. It helped a little, but she was sure everyone could see what a mess she was.

The Bellas sang the National Anthem at the beginning of the meet and left soon after. Beca definitely wasn't the only one hungover. She was amazed at how all of her fellow Bellas could still manage to sound so good when they all probably felt about as bad as she did. It was an amazing group of women.

Beca went back to the apartment and worked on a new mix. She was trying to find something that sounded good with "Titanium." She couldn't get the song out of her head after singing it at the karaoke bar, probably because her thoughts kept drifting back to how good Chloe sounded singing it with her.

Aubrey, the leader of the Bellas, called a Bella meeting that evening. Beca loved her singing group, but she hated Aubrey's meetings. She meant well, but she was such a control freak. She and Beca clashed a lot when Beca first joined the group, but Aubrey eventually learned that Beca had an amazing ear for music. Now it was Beca's responsibility to arrange the songs for their sets.

What Beca didn't know was that this was another attempt from her Bella sisters to take her mind off of Jesse. Beca arrived at the meeting to find that it was actually just a small party with drinks and snacks, no alcohol this time due to nearly every Bella having woken up hungover that morning. She was happy to hang out with her fellow Bellas, and found herself drawn to Chloe. How had she not noticed how gorgeous Chloe was before? She had an amazing body, and the most beautiful sky blue eyes she'd ever seen. Beca and Chloe made small talk most of the evening, and they were the last two to leave.

"Beca, I'm really sorry about Jesse. I just want you to know I'm here for you if you want to talk or go out and get away from here," said Chloe.

"Thanks, Chloe. I may take you up on that," said Beca. "By the way, I was wondering if you'd like to go to my cousin's wedding next month with me. I think we'd have a really good time, and you'll save me from endless questions from my relatives as to why I'm not bringing Jesse."

"That sounds like fun, Beca. I'd love to go. Text me later with details and what you're wearing so we can coordinate." Chloe gave Beca a big hug before they parted ways.

Beca went back to her apartment, greeted Fat Amy, and went straight to her room. She noticed more texts from Jesse. The last one said:

 _Asshole Ex: I haven't told the Trebles what transpired. Call me so I know what you want to do._

She thought it was interesting that he'd said "what transpired" instead of just saying they'd broken up. She texted back.

 _B: The Bellas already know, so you can tell the Trebles whatever you want._

She thought for a moment and added:

 _B: And, while we're at it, consider yourself excused from Jordyn's wedding. I know you didn't want to go anyway, and I sure as hell don't want you there now. I'm bringing someone else._

That night, when she tried to fall asleep, she kept thinking about Chloe. It felt a bit like she may have a crush on her. She'd had a few small crushes on girls before, but always dismissed them. Could Beca be bi and not realize it? She definitely still liked guys, but she had to admit to herself that all she could think of was kissing Chloe. And maybe a little more. She chalked up her thoughts to being on the rebound and tried to push them out of her mind. After all, she and Jesse had been officially broken up for less than twenty-four hours. It was crazy to think about anyone else in that way so soon.

This caused her thoughts to drift back to things with Jesse. When Beca thought about it, things really had been over for a while. She could count on one hand the number of times they'd been intimate in the last few months. There had been a few rumors that Jesse had been awfully handsy with another girl at a New Year's party. Beca had heard the rumors, but she hadn't even bothered to concern herself about them. When she thought about it, she realized she was angrier at herself for not ending things earlier than she was with Jesse for ending them. Of course, the annoying barrage of texts was causing a whole new problem. She'd deal with that later.


	2. Chapter 2

It was Monday again. She started her morning at her internship. News had already traveled fast about Beca's breakup with Jesse, and her coworkers were nice enough not to pry. Her boss gave her some new tracks to try and edit, so that occupied her morning. She had classes that afternoon, and unfortunately, one of them was with Jesse.

Jesse walked up to her before class like they were still the best of friends. It turned Beca's stomach. He started showing her some new app he'd downloaded onto his phone, and Beca finally said to him, "Look, I don't want to be friends right now. It's too soon, and this is just awkward and confusing for me. Please leave me alone and don't even sit with me in class." She was surprised that he seemed to accept this, sitting clear on the other end of the room from her once they entered the classroom. She hated to be so blunt, but Jesse was being really dense about this. He looked hurt by her words, but Beca didn't care. He'd ripped out her heart and stomped on it, and she owed him nothing.

That night, Jesse called her cell to ask about her day. Beca was annoyed that he'd called only hours after she'd told him to leave her alone. She thought she'd made herself clear. She didn't have the energy to fight, so she cut the conversation off really fast. She hoped if she avoided him enough, he'd go away. She blocked his phone number and blocked him on social media as well. Later that night, Donald, a Treble alum, called. He and Beca generally got along well, and she was happy to talk to him. He invited her to hang out later that week, and she accepted, hoping he realized that she meant this as friends, but she couldn't tell for sure. She liked Donald, but only as a friend. She knew Donald had a thing for her, but she hoped he could accept that she just wasn't ready for anything beyond friendship with anybody right now. She knew in the back of her mind that Donald was likely only contacting her because he'd learned from the other Trebles that she and Jesse were over. Getting together with him was likely a bad idea, but she thought it was worth it to give Donald a chance to hang out, strictly as friends.

The rest of the week went on, and Beca was relieved that Jesse had kept his distance in class later that week. He'd tried calling Beca from his friend Bumper's phone, but Beca knew to ignore the call. She spoke with her favorite aunt about the breakup, and her aunt agreed Jesse was being ridiculous about trying to force friendship on her. Her aunt invited her to lunch that Saturday and Beca accepted. It was a rare weekend that she didn't have any Bella obligations or a load of schoolwork. She and her aunt spent some time going over some music ideas for her cousin's wedding. Beca hadn't wanted to DJ for the wedding so she could enjoy herself as a regular guest, but her cousin had begged her. They compromised by Beca suggesting someone else from her internship, and she promised her cousin she'd help the DJ with some music choices, including some of Beca's mixes.

Saturday evening was her night out with Donald. Beca was nervous, but that was mainly because she worried that she may have given him the wrong impression. She limited herself to one alcoholic drink at dinner while watching Donald down one beer after another. She had zero desire to go beyond friendship with Donald, but she knew she was vulnerable and didn't want to chance getting drunk and regretting her actions. They ended up going to a nearby sports bar, but Beca honestly wasn't having much fun. She didn't really like that kind of place, and she wasn't interested in drinking anymore. After about an hour, she thanked Donald for taking her out and headed back to her apartment. Donald seemed disappointed, but at least he didn't try anything inappropriate with her.

She spent Sunday at her dad's. She took Sam out for a little while, and he, as always, was super excited to spend time with her. He really was a cute kid, and Beca loved the little guy. He'd been five when his mom had married Beca's dad. Beca had been seventeen. Sam had taken an almost instant liking to her. Beca normally didn't do well with young children, having been an only child herself, but Sam quickly wormed his way into her heart. She only saw him during her visits with her father until she'd moved to Georgia for college. Once she was living in the dorms on campus, she'd made an effort to patch things up with her father and accept her stepmother. She had been upset when her parents had divorced when she was ten, but she'd understood as time went on that her parents just hadn't been able to make things work. Sheila made her dad really happy, and Beca had tried very hard to accept the woman into her life. Sheila seemed to respect that, never forcing affection on her or making any attempt to replace Beca's mother. Sam happily settled into the little brother role, and the two didn't fight like siblings usually did due to the age difference and the fact that they hadn't really lived together. There was the occasional squabble, but the two didn't see each other often enough to really have much to argue about.

They went bowling, and Sam beat Beca's score. He spent the ride home gloating, and Beca couldn't help but laugh. She was the world's worst bowler, and she had only gone bowling to make Sam happy. She stayed for dinner, and her dad asked about her cousin's wedding.

"What's the plan for Jordyn's wedding, Beca? Should I call my sister and let her know you'll be going alone?" asked her dad.

"No, Dad, I'm taking Chloe," said Beca.

"Chloe? The one you say is cute, but you're not into girls?"

"Dad!"

"You're the one who said it."

Beca rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Anyway, she's the only Bella with red hair."

"I know which one she is. Make sure you give your aunt Chloe's name. I doubt you want to see Jesse's name on the place card."

"I had lunch with her yesterday. She already knows."

Beca wasn't about to tell her Dad she thought she might have a little crush on Chloe. If she was bi, and Beca really wasn't sure at this point, she had a feeling it might be tough for her Dad to accept. Besides, her head and her heart were a jumbled mess, and she was almost positive this was some crazy rebound feeling she was having.

* * *

The next day, after Bellas rehearsal, Beca told Chloe that she actually hadn't chosen anything to wear for Jordyn's wedding. Chloe had been horrified at this statement, insisting she and Beca go shopping the next day. Beca hated clothes shopping, but she admitted Chloe was right to suggest they start shopping right away, not wanting to be stuck with nothing to wear at the last minute.

Beca picked up Chloe at her apartment and headed to the mall.

Once they entered the mall, Beca said, "Chloe, why don't you lead the way? I have a feeling you already have an idea where you want to shop."

Chloe grinned. "I sure do. This way!" She grabbed Beca's hand and dragged her into a department store. Chloe let go of Beca's hand once they got to the dress department. Beca saw Chloe glance up and down Beca's body and grab several dresses. She took Beca's hand again and headed for the fitting room. She found a double-sized room and began to strip off her clothes. Beca stood there, wide-eyed, unable to move.

"Beca, what are you waiting for?"

"What?" said Beca.

"I got these for us to try on. I guessed your size. 4, right?"

Beca felt her mouth go dry. Chloe was standing in front of her in her underwear, acting like nothing was at all unusual about this situation.

"Y-y-yeah," Beca stammered. "Thanks. Why are we sharing a dressing room?"

"So we can see how our dresses look together, silly." Chloe handed her a navy blue dress. "This is going to go great with your eyes."

Beca quickly stripped off her clothes and tried on the dress. She really liked it! Chloe had quite an eye for fashion. Beca was more comfortable in flannels and skinny jeans, but she certainly wouldn't be wearing that to Jordyn's wedding.

Beca glanced over at Chloe and saw her bending over to put on her dress. She caught herself staring at Chloe's ass and quickly averted her eyes. Chloe was turned away, and Beca hoped she hadn't noticed.

Chloe stood up and turned her head toward Beca. "Zip me up?"

"Sure," said Beca. She fumbled nervously with the zipper but managed to get the zipper up with minimal difficulty.

Chloe twirled in her dress. "What do you think?" she asked.

Beca blinked a few times before answering. "It's amazing! It matches your eyes!"

"Thanks," said Chloe, moving closer to Beca and snaking an arm around her waist. "Okay, now we know how we look together. I like it. Do you want to try anything else on?"

Beca shook her head. "No, I think we look great."

"Me too. Now, what about shoes?"

Beca thought for a minute. "I don't know. What goes with this?"

Chloe suggested several options, none of which Beca owned.

"Okay, shoe shopping, it is!"

Beca groaned.

"Come on, Beca. You have to do this right."

Beca sighed. "If you say so. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm good. Aubrey and I wear the same shoe size, so I'll borrow something from her if I don't have anything that works. I'm pretty sure I have something, though," said Chloe. "Now, can you help me out of this?"

Beca unzipped Chloe's dress with less fumbling and managed to avert her eyes before being caught staring at her underwear-clad friend.

As soon as they finished in the dressing room, Beca found herself being dragged toward the shoe department. Chloe pointed to a few options, and Beca chose a pair that was relatively inexpensive and available in her size.

The two girls paid for their items and left the mall.

* * *

 _One week later_

It was the big day for Beca's cousin Jordyn. Beca was really happy for her, but also really nervous about bringing Chloe as her date. She wasn't sure how her family would react. Sure, Chloe wasn't her girlfriend, but she had to admit to herself that she probably did like Chloe more than a friend. They'd grown closer and had been spending a lot of time together ever since their mall trip. She wasn't sure how Chloe felt, so she decided to try and push those feelings down for the day. She wanted to have fun at Jordyn's wedding, and that wasn't going to happen if things got awkward with Chloe. She decided she'd simply introduce her as Chloe, and she'd explain that she was in the Bellas with her if anyone asked. It was true, and she figured most people wouldn't pry beyond that.

Chloe knocked on Beca's apartment door, and Beca let her in. Chloe looked even better in her dress than she'd looked in the fitting room. She'd gotten her hair put up and had a beautiful pair of hoop earrings in her ears.

"So, how do I look?" Chloe asked Beca. Beca swallowed hard.

"Beautiful!" said Beca, trying not to stare at Chloe's body. She looked amazing, and Beca was going to have a hard time controlling herself at this wedding.

"Your dress is gorgeous!" Chloe said to Beca. Beca thought she saw Chloe steal a glance at her cleavage, but Beca thought that might be wishful thinking.

Chloe drove to the wedding at a church nearby. Chloe had tears in her eyes as Jordyn and Nicholas exchanged vows. Beca patted her leg. "Sorry," whispered Chloe. "I always cry at weddings. So glad I wore waterproof mascara." Chloe dug in her purse and retrieved a tissue for herself.

"It's okay," she whispered back. Beca thought it was really sweet seeing Chloe so moved by an exchange of vows between people she'd never even met. Beca thought to herself about how much she hoped she could find someone for herself as great as Nicholas was for Jordyn.

The wedding reception was really nice, but Beca's nerves were getting the better of her. She picked at her plate because she was too nervous to eat. She'd never had a problem eating around Chloe before, but this time she couldn't seem to untie the knot in her stomach. She excused herself to the bathroom to take a deep breath and collect herself. She came back to the table a few minutes later, but still barely managed to eat. _What was the matter with her?_

The toasts were given, and Beca loosened up a little after getting some champagne in her. When the guests were invited to the dance floor, she immediately turned to Chloe and said, "Well, we're here to dance, so let's go!" She took Chloe's hand and they hit the dance floor. When the time came for a slow dance, she was surprised to see Chloe pull Beca tightly to her and continue to dance. She figured Chloe would want to sit that out or find someone else to dance with, but she didn't mind. She got a few looks from some older aunts, but most people paid them no attention. Her Dad looked at her with a raised eyebrow at one point, but he didn't ask her any questions. Chloe and Beca danced together nearly every dance that night, save for one dance Beca had promised Sam. Chloe took Beca's youngest cousin Carrie, the five-year-old flower girl, around the dance floor, twirling her in her dress during that dance. Beca found herself disappointed when the reception was over. Usually, she left weddings early, but she had so much fun with Chloe that she didn't want to leave.

Chloe dropped Beca off at her apartment and gave her a huge tight hug before leaving. Beca thanked Chloe for being such an excellent date. She avoided a very strong urge to kiss her. It seemed Chloe might be interested, but Beca wasn't sure. She also realized she had only split with Jesse three weeks prior, and didn't want to jump into things too soon.

* * *

The Monday after the wedding, Jesse began to harass Beca. Beca thought he'd gotten the message when he'd stopped talking to her in class. It had been almost two weeks since he'd said a single word to her. He appeared to have figured out that he'd been blocked from calling her as well as from social media and that Beca had blocked Bumper's number too. However, he began calling her from another friend's phone. Beca knew not to pick it up, but Jesse still left voicemails for her, saying he really needed to speak to her. Beca didn't respond and hoped he'd get the point. He did not. He called Fat Amy's cell, and Fat Amy refused to let him talk to Beca. He then had another friend, Benji, try and call Beca and then Fat Amy. When Benji promised Fat Amy he wasn't going to put Jesse on the phone, Fat Amy asked Beca if she wanted to take the call. Beca told her she'd talk to Benji, but that she'd hang up if Jesse got on the phone. Benji was a good friend of Beca's, but she also knew that Jesse had likely put him up to this. Benji told Beca that Jesse really wanted to talk to her and explain to her why he broke up with her. Beca told him to tell Jesse it was too late and she didn't care anymore. Jesse called Fat Amy's cell, and Fat Amy sent it to voicemail. Jesse's message said "Tell Beca I'll e-mail her. I hate to do it this way, but I can't keep this inside of me anymore." Beca rolled her eyes. Fat Amy blocked Jesse's number after that, figuring she'd had enough of Jesse. Beca thanked Amy and apologized that Jesse had thrown her in the middle of this.

Beca checked her e-mail, the only place where she hadn't blocked Jesse, and there was a long letter from Jesse.

 _From: Asshole  
_ _To: Awesome DJ_

 _Subject: Why we broke up_

 _We broke up three weeks ago. Now you aren't giving me the opportunity to say my piece, and that isn't fair. You didn't have to leave the car so quickly that night. We could have gone somewhere and talked, but your pride got the better of you. I hate to have to do this over e-mail, but I can't keep this inside my head. You won't talk to me any other way, so I guess this is how it's got to be._

 _ **Why I Broke Up With You**_

 _The Beca and Jesse that were first together 3 ½ years ago were perfect for each other in every way. However, we have changed as people do, and the Beca and Jesse that we are now don't work as a couple anymore._

 _Every time we fought, it was worse. I ended things so we wouldn't have a huge blow-up and never speak to each other again. I'd rather keep you as a friend. Please don't throw away the 3 ½ years we had together. That's exactly what you're doing if you won't keep me as a friend._

 _ **What I Want**_

 _I want to still be friends. I enjoyed most of our time together, and I'd really like to still spend time together. We don't work as a couple anymore, but I think we'd do well as friends. If you don't want this, then I want the computer monitor and keyboard I loaned you. I was letting you keep them in hopes that we'd still be friends. If that isn't what you want, then I want them back. Do I have anything of yours? If I do, I'll happily return them to you._

 _ **What You Want**_

 _This is what I still don't know. You won't talk to me, and you told me to go away when we had class together. I can't figure out what you want if you won't talk to me._

Beca was floored by the e-mail. Why on earth was Jesse making her the bad guy? He had been the one to initiate the breakup, but then he was acting like she was a horrible person for cutting him out of her life as best as she could. And, really, what did he expect her to do if he said he didn't want to date her anymore? That didn't suggest it was up for discussion.

His remark about people changing was one of the craziest things she'd read because he'd spent their entire relationship telling her about how, in his mind, people don't change. However, when he broke up with her, it was his first reason. While she agreed that she and Jesse had changed, she found it surprising that he'd said that.

She didn't understand why Jesse thought he could insist they stay friends. Sure, she would be civil around him. It was something she had to do because the Trebles spent a fair amount of time with the Bellas, but that was as far as it was going to go. He'd really hurt her, and she didn't owe him a damn thing. Okay, maybe she owed him the keyboard and monitor. She thought they had been gifts, but she would happily return them if they'd make him go away. It certainly wasn't worth the argument. She had some clothes at his place, but nothing else. She hoped he'd return them, but it wasn't a huge deal to her if he didn't.

She thought she'd made herself clear when she'd told Jesse to leave her alone and then had blocked him from almost all ways of contacting her. She decided she'd spell it out for him in her reply e-mail. She was going to wait until the next day to send her reply, making sure she'd slept on things before saying something she might later regret.

She wrote:

 _From: Awesome DJ  
_ _To: Asshole_

 _Subject: RE: Why we broke up_

 _As you said, we broke up three weeks ago. If the reason you gave me in the car wasn't valid, that's not my fault. I'm not being unfair for refusing to speak to you three weeks after it was over. Criticizing me for getting out of the car almost immediately after being dumped and then acting like I'm a jerk for not talking to you is downright ridiculous._

 _I don't want to be your friend. When you break up with someone, you run the risk of them never wanting to speak to you again. I don't want to talk to you and be your friend, and you need to accept that. I'll happily return the monitor and keyboard, but I thought they were gifts. You can have them back. I'll give them to Benji. You have some of my clothes that I left at your apartment. Please give them to Benji, and I'll give him the monitor and keyboard this week._

 _To be clear as to what I want, I want to be left alone. I don't want to be your friend. At all. We were together for years, and to expect me to shut that off and act like nothing ever happened and just be friends is absurd. I'll still be civil at a capella events, but that's as far as it's going to go. You can't force anybody to be your friend, so just respect my wishes and stop trying._

Beca knew it was repetitive, but she hoped stating plainly that she didn't want to be his friend several times in the e-mail would make things obvious. She sent off the e-mail and then went about her day. She had her usual internship and classes. She didn't even look at her e-mail until the evening. To her surprise, Jesse agreed to give Benji her clothes, and he didn't say much else. Beca hoped that after exchanging their items through Benji, he'd leave her alone for good.

Beca met Benji later that week, and they exchanged the items. Beca promised Benji she'd leave him out of anything further with Jesse. She hoped he'd finally gotten the message by now anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

Spring break went surprisingly well for Beca. She was a little lonely and missing her Barden friends, but she kept herself busy. She spent a lot of time with her mom and caught up with some old friends from Portland. She turned off her cell phone for most of the week, only turning it back on the day she was to fly back to Atlanta. Thankfully, Jesse had backed off. In fact, the week before spring break, he'd stopped showing up to the one class they had together. Beca figured he'd withdrawn, and she was relieved to be able to just go to class and learn and not worry about Jesse being around.

At the first Bella rehearsal after spring break, Beca found herself next to Chloe. Aubrey had put them together in the new set. She thought she saw Aubrey wink at Chloe when she assigned their placements in line, but she wasn't sure. It may have been wishful thinking again. Beca was even happier when she saw that she and Chloe would be doing some partner choreography in the second song of the set.

Beca spoke with Aubrey after rehearsal.

"What do you think of the newest arrangements?"

"They're good. Let's keep these songs the way you have them. They sound really good, and I don't want to make another change so close to the competition."

"Great."

"So, how did things go at the wedding with Chloe?"

"We had so much fun. Lots of dancing. I really like her."

"That's great. I'm glad you didn't have to go by yourself. Jesse's a jerk."

"Thanks. I've moved on, though."

"You have?"

"Yeah, I have my eye on someone."

"Who's the guy?"

"There's no guy."

"Then, who?"

"You don't understand. When I said 'I really like her,' I meant that I like Chloe and want to date her." Aubrey looked at Beca with a very surprised expression.

"I didn't even know you were into girls," said Aubrey.

"I didn't either, but I can't stop thinking about her," said Beca. Beca had surprised herself with this confession. It wasn't like her to say that sort of thing, especially to her crush's best friend and roommate. "Well, I guess I'll see you at tomorrow's rehearsal."

* * *

The next day after rehearsal, Chloe chatted with Beca for a long time after the rest of the Bellas had left. Beca felt like Chloe had something more than small talk to say, but she was too nervous to say anything beyond small talk. Just before she was about to leave, Chloe said, "Hey, before you go, I wanted to know if you wanted to go out sometime."

"Yeah, I would. Call me tomorrow and we'll set it up!" replied Beca. She was elated! Chloe had asked her on a date!

She walked into her apartment and happily told Fat Amy, "Chloe asked me out!"

"That's awesome!" said Fat Amy. "You're Beca and Chloe, together you're Bloe, and everyone loves a good Bloe."

"Somehow I don't think that's a good name for us, Amy. Besides, this is just one date. I have no idea how this is going to go," said Beca.

The next night, Chloe called Beca after Bella rehearsal. They set up a date to go ice skating at a nearby rink. Chloe said she'd pick Beca up since Beca's apartment was close to the ice rink. Beca was super excited and super nervous. She hadn't been on a first date in years and had never dated a woman. Were the rules different? And was she really emotionally ready after such a tough breakup with Jesse? Also, why had she agreed to go ice skating on their date when she didn't know how to skate? She'd been so excited that Chloe had asked her on a date that she'd agreed to the first thing Chloe had suggested.

Fat Amy helped Beca choose what to wear for her date. It was early April, but she'd be at an ice rink. She settled on dressing in layers. The open skating session at the ice rink was only two hours, and she wanted to be comfortable if they went anywhere afterward.

The day before her date with Chloe, Beca's dad asked her to take her stepbrother Sam to Disney on Ice. He was supposed to go with Sheila, but she'd come down with the flu. Beca's dad didn't want to leave her alone, so he asked Beca to take him. Beca really wasn't a big fan of watching Disney characters skate around, but she did it for Sam. She talked to Chloe on the phone that afternoon and promised to call Chloe after the ice show.

Beca and Sam settled into their seats, and Sam's eyes were as big as saucers when he saw his favorite Disney characters skating. Beca had to admit to herself it was awfully cute, and she was a sucker for a smiling Sam.

It was late when Beca got home. She'd had to wait in a long line to leave the parking lot, and she had to lift a heavy sleeping Sam out of the car and into her Dad's house. He was a normal size for a 10-year-old boy, but Beca was petite and he was heavy when he was asleep! Once she finally got into her apartment, she called Chloe and got her voicemail. She left a message on Chloe's voicemail. "I guess you're sleeping. I got back later than I thought I would. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow night."

* * *

The next day was Beca's big date. She spent the morning and afternoon pacing her bedroom. Amy had surprised Beca by refraining from commenting on her unusual behavior, only casting the occasional questioning glance in her direction. She was really nervous and excited about her date, and she couldn't focus on anything. She managed to eat breakfast and lunch, but the nerves started up again at dinner time. She made herself some Easy Mac, her favorite, but only managed about three bites.

She was dressed for her date and had her hair and makeup looking nice when Chloe arrived. She wore a tank top with a red and black flannel over it, and black skinny jeans and lace-up boots. Her hair was half up, half down, and showed her beautiful brunette waves. She brought a heavier coat to go over her top when they skated. Chloe looked adorable in a bright blue tunic and black leggings with black ankle boots. The tunic brought out Chloe's eyes, and Chloe had put her hair in two french braids. Beca wanted to grab Chloe and kiss her right then, but she held off. It was too soon.

"Okay, you two, no hanky panky at the ice rink if there are kids there. You don't want to get thrown out," said Fat Amy.

"That would be weird for a first date," said Beca.

"Don't have her out too late," said Fat Amy to Chloe.

"Ames, enough," said Beca. "Besides, isn't Bumper coming over? Wouldn't you rather Chloe kept me out late?"

"On second thought, please keep her out late. No bringing her back before midnight."

"Enough, Amy."

"Bye, kids! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" hollered Amy.

Beca and Chloe laughed as they headed to Chloe's car. "Is there anything Amy _wouldn't_ do?" asked Beca.

"Well, anything that involves acting like a responsible adult," said Chloe, laughing.

It was only a ten-minute drive to the ice rink. Since it was April, it wasn't busy at the open skate. There may have only been about ten other people there. Chloe paid for the tickets and skate rentals. Beca offered, but Chloe said, "I asked you on the date. It's my treat."

They got their skates and put their things into a locker. Beca figured before they got on the ice, it might be a good idea to tell Chloe she didn't really know how to skate. "So, Chloe, did I mention I don't know how to skate?"

"That's okay with me. I'll show you. I used to figure skate as a kid," said Chloe.

"Oh my god, did you wear those cute little skirts too?"

"Of course."

"You have got to show me pictures sometime. I bet you were adorable."

"My mom and dad always said I was," answered Chloe. Beca took Chloe's hand, and Chloe helped her get her balance. Beca didn't take long to get her feet under her. She hadn't quite mastered stopping, and almost knocked herself and Chloe over at one point. Chloe showed her a few ways of stopping, and Beca could skate without help by the time the session was over. She still held hands with Chloe on the ice. The session ended, and the girls returned their skates.

"So, what should we do now? I can take you home if you want, or we can go get something to eat," said Chloe.

"I'd love to go get something to eat. Where should we go?" asked Beca.

"I know it probably sounds weird, but I could really go for some Buffalo chicken strips at Denny's," said Chloe.

"Sounds good. Let's do it!" said Beca.

The girls sat at Denny's and ordered sodas and chicken strips. They had some light, casual conversation. Chloe told Beca more about her figure skating days, and Beca told her about how she'd gotten into making music mixes. They spent a lot of it looking into each other's eyes, each one a little too nervous to make another move. When the food arrived, Beca was to nervous to eat much. Like she'd done at the wedding, she excused herself to the bathroom to take a deep breath and regroup. She came back, and still only managed a couple more bites.

Things were getting late, and Chloe took Beca back to her apartment around midnight. She walked Beca to the door, and they looked each other and embraced. They held on for a long time, neither wanting to let go. Beca could feel herself wanting more, but she wasn't about to go too far too early with Chloe. She wanted to kiss her, but she was a little too nervous to do so.

Chloe was the first to talk after they broke the embrace. "This was really fun. We definitely have to go out again sometime."

"Definitely," Beca agreed. "Let's talk tomorrow. Think about what you want to do. My treat next time."

Beca walked into her apartment to find Fat Amy's bedroom door shut with a sock hanging on the doorknob. That meant Bumper was over, and she could hear the headboard banging against the wall and the two of them moaning and screaming. She went to her own room and put her headphones on to drown out the noise. The noise-canceling headphones her mother had gotten her for the previous Christmas were worth their weight in gold.

* * *

The next morning, Beca woke up and had some breakfast. Fat Amy and Bumper still had the sock on the doorknob, but all was quiet. She figured they were sleeping in. That suited her just fine. She was happy to be alone with her thoughts for a while. She could also do without hearing the headboard banging for a long time.

She called Chloe around lunchtime and asked if Chloe wanted to come over on Friday. She wanted to show Chloe how her music mixing worked. She figured they could rent a movie or watch some Netflix if she liked. Chloe agreed, and they were set for lunch that Friday at her apartment.

On Friday, Beca ordered some sandwiches from the sandwich shop next door. She wasn't much of a cook, so she figured takeout was her best option. She and Chloe ate their sandwiches and had some light conversation. Fat Amy was in class, but she'd be back soon. Beca showed Chloe how her music program worked. Chloe was really impressed. She loved how just about every mix she had made had a track of herself singing.

"Hey Chloe, can I record you singing for my new mix?" asked Beca.

"Really? I'd love that," said Chloe.

"Of course," said Beca.

"Do I get to pick the track?" asked Chloe.

"Sure, I guess so. What did you have in mind?" asked Beca.

"How about 'Just the Way You Are' by Bruno Mars?" asked Chloe.

"Sounds great. Let me get you set up. I'll count you in and give you some starter notes so you're in the right key and tempo. I have a track I recorded the other day that I think would mesh really well with it." Beca handed Chloe the microphone and began conducting and hummed the first four measures of the song. Chloe went ahead with the song. It was gorgeous, as usual. She and Beca locked eyes as Chloe sang. Beca joined in after the first verse with "Just a Dream." The two songs and voices mixed together beautifully. Neither girl broke their gaze. When they were done recording, both girls embraced. They were overwhelmed with how beautiful they sounded together. Again, Beca wanted to kiss Chloe, but she chickened out. What was wrong with her?

"So...the song I sang was the track I recorded. I hope I didn't throw you off when I started singing my track. I just couldn't wait to hear how they sounded together," said Beca.

"It didn't throw me off. We sounded great. I can't wait to hear the whole recording!" said Chloe.

"What should we do now? We could rent something or see what's on Netflix?" asked Beca.

"I'm fine with Netflix," said Chloe.

Beca booted up her computer (with a new large monitor she bought on sale after returning Jesse's monitor), and signed in. "You pick the movie," said Beca.

Before Chloe could respond, Fat Amy walked by. "I'm heading straight to my bedroom and totally NOT looking at you two in Beca's room. Nope, just going to get a snack and head to my room and shut the door!" yelled Amy. Beca rolled her eyes.

"What was that all about?" asked Chloe.

"It's Amy. She's getting a real kick out of the two of us dating, so she's being as inappropriate as possible. I promise none of this came from me."

"None of it?" asked Chloe.

"No. I just told her we'd probably watch Netflix and chill."

"Oh my god, what?"

"What?"

"Beca, you told her 'Netflix and chill'?"

"Isn't that what we're doing?"

Chloe pulled out her phone and showed her the urban dictionary definition of that phrase. "Read this."

Beca read the definition and turned beet red. "Oh my god, I so didn't mean that."

Chloe laughed. "I know. Hey, at least you didn't use the phrase on me. You might want to explain that to Fat Amy."

Beca was still blushing. "Yeah, that's probably a conversation for later. But, really, did she think we'd do that with the door open?"

"Beats me. I think she probably just gets a kick out of teasing us. Here we are, fully clothed, sitting on the bed. We weren't even holding hands."

Chloe chuckled. "Yeah, she's something," Chloe said. She looked through the selections. She chose a romantic comedy, just like Beca expected. It wasn't one either girl had seen. The two girls laid back on Beca's bed and cuddled while watching the movie. Beca again resisted the urge to kiss Chloe. Chloe was engrossed in the movie and didn't seem to mind. The movie was light and fun, and Beca was surprised she enjoyed it. She'd never been much for movies, and Jesse's love for movies was a really annoying trait. Maybe if she watched enough movies with Chloe, she would like them a little better.

It got close to dinner time, and Beca had already promised to go to her Dad and Sheila's for dinner that night. She walked Chloe to her car, and Chloe gave her a huge hug before she left. Just as she left to get into her car, she planted a light kiss on Beca's cheek. Beca was a little too surprised to respond, so she just smiled.

She went to dinner at her dad and Sheila's with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. Her dad noticed her mood. "What has you in such a good mood, Beca?" he asked.

"I had a good day, Dad. That's all," said Beca.

"Who's the boy?" asked her father.

"There's no boy!" said Beca, laughing.

"Okay, fine. Don't tell me if you don't want to," he said.

"I'm serious, Dad. No boy," said Beca.

"Is there a girl, then, maybe one with red hair?" asked her dad.

"How did you know?" asked Beca, looking at her dad incredulously.

"I saw you and Chloe at Jordyn's wedding. I saw how you looked at each other and how the two of you danced. I've never seen you dance at a wedding! You think I don't notice these things, but I know my daughter," said her dad.

"Chloe and I have been on a couple dates. I'm not sure that she's my girlfriend yet. We haven't really talked about labeling ourselves like that," said Beca.

"If you want, you can bring her to dinner for your birthday. We can get to know her," said her dad.

"I'll ask. Thanks." Beca hugged her dad, relieved that he didn't freak out about her dating a girl. Maybe he'd had some time to work things out in his head after seeing Beca and Chloe together at Jordyn's wedding.


	4. Chapter 4

The next Saturday, Beca and Chloe had made plans. Unfortunately, Beca woke up sick that morning. She texted Chloe that she'd have to cancel because she wasn't feeling well. Chloe offered to bring over some chicken soup, but Beca declined. She knew she looked awful, and she didn't want to risk getting Chloe sick.

Chloe called Beca that afternoon, and they had a really long phone conversation about anything and everything. Chloe confirmed Beca's suspicion that Aubrey had told her that Beca was interested. It turned out Chloe had been interested for a while but she had accepted that Beca was taken. When Beca and Jesse split, Chloe still wasn't sure that Beca would be interested, and she hadn't wanted to push her after she'd been with Jesse for so long. She hoped that Beca asking her to go to a family wedding meant she had been interested, and she was glad that she was right. They only stopped their conversation because Chloe's phone battery was about to die and she needed to go find her charger. She made Beca promise to get some rest and to let her know if she changed her mind about chicken soup.

Beca woke up feeling much better the next morning, although not one hundred percent better. She still felt a little weak, and she definitely wasn't up for doing much other than binge-watching TV shows on Netflix.

Chloe called and checked in, and Beca assured her she was feeling better but not up for visitors. Chloe had plans with Aubrey that day but promised Beca she'd be checking her phone in case Beca needed something. Beca assured her she was fine and went back to binge-watching.

The next day was Monday, and Beca felt almost totally better. She went to her internship and classes as usual. Her birthday was a week away, and she and Chloe made plans for that weekend. Chloe had wanted to surprise Beca, so all she'd told Beca was that it was casual and to wear comfortable shoes.

* * *

Late Saturday afternoon, Chloe brought a dozen roses with her when she arrived to pick up Beca. Beca thanked Chloe and put the flowers in water before they left. Beca was touched but a little too overwhelmed to say much. She hoped Chloe understood that she really appreciated the flowers and the thought behind them.

Beca was surprised when Chloe pulled up to the parking garage of the Georgia Aquarium.

"Chloe, we're going to the aquarium?!"

"You said you hadn't been there yet."

"Isn't it expensive?"

"I did my research, and I planned ahead. I got the discounted admission because we're going in after 4. Besides, it's your birthday."

"Thanks, Chloe. This is really cool."

Chloe walked up to the entrance with Beca and handed their tickets to the ticket taker.

"Come on, we need to get in line for the dolphin show. I want to make sure we get a good seat."

Chloe grabbed Beca's hand and led her to the waiting area. Beca was still overwhelmed at this point, so she mostly stood quietly, wide-eyed. The dolphin show was really fun and interesting, and they both really enjoyed the show.

Chloe checked the time on her cell phone. "Hey, Beca, if you want, we can probably get in line in time to catch the sea lion show."

Beca thought for a minute. "I'd like to, but I think I'll pass this time. Let's just walk around and look at everything."

They walked over to the Cold Water Quest. One penguin seemed to follow Beca as she walked around and looked at the exhibit.

"Hey, Beca, I think you have an admirer," joked Chloe.

Beca laughed. She walked around, changing directions a few times, and the penguin followed her each time.

"Should I be jealous?" asked Chloe.

"Maybe. I _do_ seem to have this one's attention," said Beca, smirking.

"Come on, let's go look at the animals in the tunnel," said Chloe. She led Beca to an area with a giant tunnel overhead, allowing guests to see the ocean life from many different angles.

"This is really cool," said Beca. "I wonder how much water is in there."

"6.3 million gallons," said Chloe, pointing to an information display.

"Wow," said Beca. "Hey! There's a whale shark!"

"That's awesome," said Chloe.

The two of them spent a long time looking around at the various exhibits for a while before leaving the aquarium in search of dinner. As they were walking hand in hand around downtown Atlanta, Beca said, "You know, I think Sam would love the aquarium."

"Maybe we should take him some time," said Chloe.

"We? You mean, you'd be willing to let my ten-year-old stepbrother tag along with us sometime?" asked Beca.

"Sure. If he's important to you, he's important to me. Besides, it's educational."

"So, you don't mind?"

"Not at all."

Beca was touched. Jesse had treated Sam fine when he saw him, but he'd never invited Sam along when they went anywhere, even if it was kid-friendly. He'd complain about the rare occasion Beca hadn't been available for a date because she was babysitting Sam. Her dad and Sheila rarely asked her, and she'd only turned them down once since she'd begun college. That time had coincided with an a capella competition. She was so glad that Chloe appeared to understand how important her stepbrother was to her, even though they'd only been dating for less than a month. She couldn't find the words to express how she felt hearing Chloe say those things, especially considering she'd only briefly met Sam at Jordyn's wedding, so she simply stopped Chloe, turned toward her, cupped her cheek, and gave her a long kiss. It was amazing! Beca had never kissed a girl, and Chloe was an impressive kisser. She came up for air for only a second, and Chloe pulled her back in and deepened the kiss. "Wow," said Beca when the two finally broke the kiss. "I've been wanting to kiss you since our first date, but I was too nervous until tonight."

"I was going to try and make my move tonight, but you beat me to it," said Chloe, grinning.

"I was just so touched."

"About me wanting to include Sam sometime?"

Beca nodded.

"Well, I meant what I said. I only saw him in person at Jordyn's wedding, but you've told me so much about him, I feel like I know him anyway."

"Yeah, I just love the little guy. Speaking of which, my dad and Sheila are having a birthday dinner for me at their house on Monday. My aunt will be there too. Do you want to come?"

"I'd love to."

"Awesome," said Beca. "Speaking of dinner, where should we eat?"

"How about the pizza place over there?" Chloe pointed to a place called Max's Coal Oven Pizzeria.

"Looks good. Ever been there?"

"Nope."

"Me neither."

The two of them split a pizza, and they both really enjoyed their food. Chloe paid the check despite Beca's insistence that she was spending too much, and the two ventured back into downtown Atlanta.

After a while, they were both tired of walking. It was getting late, so Chloe took Beca home.

Beca yawned as they walked up to her front door. "Thank you for the best birthday date ever."

"Good night, Beca."

"Good night, Chloe."

Chloe gave Beca another kiss. Beca felt Chloe's tongue slide against her bottom lip, asking for entry. Beca parted her lips, and Chloe slipped her tongue into Beca's mouth. Beca grabbed the back of Chloe's head and stroked Chloe's hair as they continued to kiss. Beca thought she was going to melt when Chloe finally pulled back. Both girls were a little flushed. Beca pulled back and smiled. "Thanks again for the wonderful birthday date. I'll call you tomorrow," she said and then turned and nearly floated into her apartment.

* * *

Monday was Beca's birthday. She woke up, showered, and got ready to head to her internship as usual. She got out of the shower to find Jesse had sent her an e-mail. It simply said, "I just wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday." She didn't reply. She was annoyed, but she wasn't about to let it ruin her birthday.

That evening, Chloe drove Beca to her dad's, and Dr. Mitchell welcomed Chloe with open arms. Beca was relieved that he wasn't weird about her, and didn't give her the third degree as he'd done to Jesse. Beca's stepbrother Sam immediately took a liking to Chloe, dragging her to his bedroom to show her his action figures. Beca smiled when she saw Chloe play along with exaggerated interest at his Avengers collection. Sam hadn't even commented about the fact that his stepsister was dating another woman. She wasn't sure, but she figured her father and Sheila had explained things to him. Whatever the reason, she was glad to see Sam and Chloe getting along. He had never been this comfortable with Jesse.

They chatted lightly over dinner, and Beca's dad and aunt shared several embarrassing stories from Beca's childhood. Beca turned bright red and shot several glares at her family members, but Chloe thought the stories were cute. Beca's family gave her gifts, and she was surprised to see one from Chloe. She thought a dozen roses and the fun birthday date were her presents. She opened it to reveal a silver necklace Beca had admired when they were downtown the other night. Beca was touched at how thoughtful Chloe was.

The family went to the living room to continue chatting, and nobody seemed to mind when they saw Beca and Chloe holding hands. Sam giggled when Chloe kissed Beca on the cheek, but that was the only time anyone had made a comment of any kind. The girls said goodnight to the family after a little while, and Chloe brought Beca and her gifts back to the apartment. Again, they shared a long, deep, passionate kiss before parting ways. Beca was still amazed at how good a kisser Chloe was.

* * *

A few weeks later, Beca and Chloe were talking alone after Bella rehearsal. "So, it looks like Fat Amy will be at Bumper's all night on Saturday. Want to come over?" asked Beca.

"Totes," said Chloe. "How's 7:00?"

"7's great."

* * *

It was Saturday night, and Fat Amy had already left for Bumper's. Beca anxiously waited for Chloe. She had poured them each a glass of wine. They'd never had a night together in either of their apartments because both had roommates that were around a lot. She was both excited and nervous about where the night might go. Things had started to move fast after that first kiss, and Beca had already decided makeout sessions with Chloe were her new favorite thing.

Chloe arrived right on time and greeted Beca with a sweet kiss. She had two bags of takeout Chinese with her. They shared a nice dinner and then settled on the couch. The TV was on, but it was mostly for background noise. They were more focused on each other.

Beca was curled up on the couch with Chloe. She laid across Chloe with her head on her chest. Chloe began to trace lazy patterns on Beca's back with her fingers. Beca sighed at the contact and began to slowly run her fingers up and down Chloe's side, causing the other woman to shiver. She began to sort of joke with her. "I wonder how much alcohol it would take to get you into bed."

"None, actually," said Chloe. Beca had been sort of kidding, but she sat up abruptly and turned immediately serious at this answer. She looked at the coffee table and noticed Chloe had barely touched the glass of wine she'd poured for her. Beca had only had about half of her glass before deciding that cuddling with Chloe was preferable to drinking wine.

"Really, are you serious?" said Beca.

"Dixie Chicks serious," said Chloe. "I even brought an overnight bag in the car. I thought maybe that's where you were going when you invited me here while Amy's away for the night."

"Well, yeah, I was hoping, actually. I didn't want to pressure you," she said nervously. "I thought some time alone would be good, even if we didn't end up in bed."

Beca nodded toward her bedroom and asked, "So, should we...?"

"Yeah. Just let me go grab my overnight bag from the car." Chloe got her bag and followed Beca to the bedroom as soon as she returned to the apartment. They sat down on Beca's bed.

"Before we start anything, we should talk," said Beca.

"Okay," said Chloe.

"So, I haven't ever slept with a woman before. You're the first woman I've even kissed. As far as guys go, I only ever slept with Jesse."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I've never slept with a woman before either. I made out with Aubrey once during our freshman year, but-"

"Wait, what?"

"Oh," said Chloe. "That was during your brief hiatus from the Bellas."

Back in their freshman year at the ICCA semifinals, Beca had improvised during their set, angering Alice, the captain at the time. Beca had angrily quit the Bellas. They hadn't made it to the finals initially, but the first place team had been disqualified. Chloe texted Beca to tell her they'd gotten a second chance, and Beca had decided to try and come back after some careful thought and a heart-to-heart discussion with her father.

"You know, I never did thank you for what you did for me back then," said Beca.

"What do you mean?" asked Chloe.

"You were the one who texted me that we'd gotten into the finals when the Footnotes had gotten disqualified. I _know_ Alice didn't want you contacting me."

"How did you know?"

"I saw her shoot you a dirty look when I'd mentioned you had been the one to text me. If looks could kill, you wouldn't be sitting here with me right now."

"Oh," said Chloe. "I...just didn't think it was right for her not to tell you. If you didn't want to come back, I wanted it to be your choice."

"Thanks," said Beca. "I never told you how much it meant to me to hear from you. I knew I had at least one friend in the Bellas, and it gave me the courage to come back."

"I'm glad," said Chloe.

"So, you and Aubrey?" asked Beca.

"Yeah, it was just once. We were pretty drunk and playing Spin the Bottle with the BU Harmonics and the High Notes – no Trebles at that party because I'm sure you remember Alice wouldn't have permitted such a thing back then. I spun the bottle, and people went crazy when it landed on Aubrey. They goaded us on, and I guess we were drunk enough that it wasn't a hard sell."

"I bet. So, how was it?"

"I'll just say Aubrey's a pretty good kisser. Not anywhere near as good as you, but...it didn't suck."

"I never would have guessed she'd kiss a girl willingly."

"Beca, don't take this the wrong way, but are you blind? Have you never seen her with Stacie at Bellas rehearsals?"

"What?"

"Oh my god, Beca. They're practically eye-fucking the whole time."

"I must be really dense."

"Or maybe you're too busy staring at me."

Beca turned red and cleared her throat. "I don't."

"It's okay, Beca. We're dating. You're allowed to stare at my ass in rehearsals."

Beca laughed nervously. "Oh, well, then I guess I'm guilty as charged."

"I also caught you twice that day in the fitting room."

"What?"

"There's a mirror, and I could see behind me. I didn't mind. I'm pretty confident about...all this," said Chloe, gesturing to her body.

"You should be," said Beca.

"Besides, it's not like I haven't looked at you."

"Oh," said Beca. She suddenly felt a lot more confident than she'd felt since Chloe had told her alcohol wasn't required to get her into bed. "Like what you see?"

"Totes," said Chloe. "So, about this?" she asked, gesturing between herself and Beca.

"Yeah," said Beca. "I really want this. How do we want to do this? Anything you aren't okay doing?"

"I say we just see where things go. I promise I'll tell you if I don't like something, and you should do the same."

"Okay," said Beca. "Now, come here." Beca threw her arms around Chloe and pulled her in for a deep kiss, making the redhead whimper. The two women took their time getting to know each other's bodies. There was a bit of fumbling on both of their parts, but they had fun learning together. The two women discovered how much they both enjoyed sex with a woman. They cuddled together on the bed after they'd worn themselves out.

"If I had known sex with you was this good, I'd have done it way sooner. I don't think I've come that hard in my life, and definitely not so many times in one night." Beca told Chloe.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Beca. That was amazing." Chloe sighed happily. They continued cuddling and then fell asleep. They woke in each other's arms the next morning, both very satisfied and feeling even closer than they had before.

Beca felt a soft kiss on her bare shoulder. She picked her head up and kissed Chloe softly on the lips.

"Good morning, Chloe."

"Good morning, Beca."

"Sleep okay?"

"Mmm-hmm. You?"

"Best sleep I've had in months," Beca said with a lazy smile. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah. Want to go out for some breakfast?"

"Yeah. Mind if I take a shower first?" asked Chloe.

"Not at all. There are some clean towels in the linen closet."

Chloe got out of bed and strutted toward the linen closet. Neither of them had put on pajamas after their lovemaking. Beca couldn't help but stare at her girlfriend. Chloe's body was amazing, and she'd had an excellent time the night before learning some of the places on that body that caused some of the sexiest sounds to come out of her when she touched them. Chloe caught Beca staring and shot her a wink. She shook her ass at Beca before heading to the linen closet and then the bathroom.

As Beca heard Chloe begin her shower, an idea popped into her head. She decided not to get dressed just yet and quietly walked into the bathroom.

"Hey, Chloe," called Beca.

"Yeah?"

Beca pulled back the shower curtain just a little and asked, "Want company?"

"Totes," said Chloe.

As Beca stepped into the shower, she felt Chloe grab her and pin her against the wall, kissing her hard. Beca was pleased to discover shower sex was so much easier with a woman. The acoustics in the bathroom amplified the sounds the two had enjoyed getting out of each other.

"Holy shit, Chloe," said Beca.

"Was that not why you wanted to join me in here?" Chloe asked with a knowing grin.

"Well..." Beca began.

"That's what I thought," said Chloe with a wink. Beca's stomach growled and she blushed. "We'd better actually try to get clean before you starve to death." Just then, Chloe's stomach growled as well and both women laughed. "Okay, before we _both_ starve to death," Chloe added.

They took turns helping each other in the shower, which really was just another excuse to put their hands on each other, and then both quickly got ready to go out to breakfast. They decided on a restaurant near Beca's apartment that had a special Sunday brunch buffet.

They sat down to their meal and talked a bit about the night before.

"So, were you really hoping to take me to bed last night when you originally invited me over?" asked Chloe.

"Well, I honestly don't know. I mean, I wanted to, but I thought it might be too early. I was mostly kidding with my comment about getting you into bed."

"Mostly?"

"Well, for one thing, I'd never actually use alcohol to get you into bed. You know that, right?" Chloe nodded. "But, for the getting you into bed part, I don't really know the rules, or if there are rules, or what. I'm glad things went the way they did, though. God, that was awesome," she said with a sigh.

Chloe reached across the table and squeezed Beca's hand. "Yeah," she said. "I'm so glad we're together. I've had my eye on you for years. I stayed back when you were with Jesse. I'm no cheater, and I don't want to be the reason someone cheats either. I felt so bad for you when he broke your heart, but I'm selfishly happy he did because it means we get to be together."

"Me too. I really should thank him," said Beca. "So, what's with Stacie and Aubrey?"

"Well, that's another reason I brought an overnight bag. When I told Aubrey we'd be alone in your apartment, she insisted I bring a bag. She encouraged me to not come back. Stacie's over at the apartment."

Beca's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah, she invited Stacie over, probably because I wouldn't be there."

"What would she have done if you had come back?"

"Probably plot my demise," said Chloe with a giggle. "In all seriousness, she would have griped, but she would have gotten over it. She either would have reluctantly sent Stacie home, or I'd be turning up the music in my bedroom."

"Has this happened before?"

"Stacie's been coming over for a few months. I've come home from a few bad dates to hear the two of them. Stacie is LOUD, but Aubrey is a close second."

Beca made a face. "Ewww. I'll have to get you a good pair of headphones. I use them when Amy has Bumper over. I think those two actually try to be loud to piss me off."

"Oh god, that's worse."

"Tell me about it."

The two girls ate the rest of their brunch, and then Chloe dropped Beca at the apartment before heading back to her own.

Fat Amy was back when Beca walked in. "Oh yeah, Shawshank! You and the ginger!"

Beca blushed. "What?"

"Come on, I know you two hit it."

"None of your business, Ames."

"But you're not denying it."

"Ummm..."

"Exactly," said Fat Amy. "So, how was it?"

"I'm not discussing this with you," said Beca. She went into her room and shut and locked the door. She wasn't mad, but she also wasn't about to answer Amy's inappropriate questions.

* * *

A/N: I haven't been to the Georgia Aquarium, but I did some research on it. I thought it was an appropriate date location, especially since part of Pitch Perfect 3 was filmed there.


	5. Chapter 5

_One week later_

The Bellas headed to New York for the ICCA finals. They'd been practicing a lot, and Beca was convinced her arrangement for their set was her best yet. She was extra excited to be standing next to her girlfriend for almost the entire set, and even more excited to be sharing a hotel room with her. Ever since the first time they'd made love, sex with Chloe had become her favorite thing, makeout sessions becoming a close second.

The Bellas ended up getting first place, and the Trebles took third. All of the Bellas except Emily were graduating, so they were thrilled to have graduated Barden as a capella champions!

As the Bellas were on stage to receive their trophy, Chloe pulled Beca in for a deep kiss. As Beca pulled away, she caught Jesse's eye. His expression was one of extreme shock. Beca smirked to herself. She thought it served him right to see she'd moved on.

 _Two weeks later_

It was the day of their graduation, and Beca and Chloe met their fellow graduating Bellas outside the auditorium at Barden University. Emily took all of their phones and took multiple group pictures of the Bellas in their green caps and gowns. She hugged every single graduating Bella before taking a seat in the auditorium.

The graduation ceremony was a blur. Both Beca and Chloe were excited to be done at Barden University, but they knew they'd miss their fellow Bellas. Chloe had secured a job as a vet tech, and Beca continued working as an intern until she could find a full-time position.

Chloe excitedly introduced Beca to her parents.

"Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend Beca."

Beca went to shake their hands, only to be wrapped in a huge hug by the two of them. She smiled. Apparently, Chloe came by her hugging habit honestly.

"It's nice to meet you." She saw her parents and stepmother walk up.

"Mom, this is my girlfriend Chloe. Mr. and Mrs. Beale, this is my mom, Ellen, my dad, Francis, and my stepmom, Sheila."

The Beales wrapped the Mitchells in hugs, taking them by surprise. "Get used to it, guys. All the Beales like to hug," said Beca with a chuckle.

"Will you be joining us in Tampa next week for Chloe's graduation and birthday parties?" asked Mrs. Beale.

"Yeah, I think so. Chloe asked me this morning," said Beca. "I have to check with my internship, but it should be fine."

"We're looking forward to it."

Beca had nervously accepted Chloe's invitation to accompany her to Tampa the next week. The relationship was still very new, but she knew things were already very serious with Chloe. She wanted to make a good impression.

Beca's dad and stepmother had a big graduation party for her with a lot of her extended family at their house the next day. They'd even managed to coordinate things with Beca's mother. It was a big day, but Chloe fit right in with Beca's family as though she'd known them for years.

* * *

 _One week later_

The two of them had decided they'd drive down to Tampa in Chloe's car to save money. It was only about a six or seven-hour drive. They spent a lot of the drive listening to Beca's music mixes and chatting. Beca brought up a serious topic at one point.

"So, Chloe, were your parents bothered by the fact that we're dating?"

"I don't think so. Why?"

"You said I was the first girl you'd dated."

"Yeah, but my parents didn't really even comment about you being a girl when I asked if I could bring my girlfriend home with me for the graduation and birthday parties."

"They didn't?"

"No, my mom just asked me what your name was and if you had any dietary needs."

"Oh. Really?"

"Yeah, that was it."

"That's really cool. I think it took my dad and Sheila some time to process things, but at least they'd gotten things figured out in their heads before you came over for my birthday. My mom wasn't surprised at all when I told her I had a girlfriend. She told me I'd talked to her enough about various girls in high school that she knew I was bi before I did."

"That's cool. So, you have nothing to worry about, okay?"

"Okay."

Chloe's parents greeted them warmly when they arrived a few hours later. Her father took Beca's bags. "I'll take these up to Chloe's room for you," he said.

"So, where do I sleep, Dad?" asked Chloe.

"We just assumed you two would share your room," said her mom. "Is that not what you want? I could make up the guest room." Her mother's expression changed to one of concern.

Chloe blushed. "No, sharing the bed is fine. I just wasn't sure what you would think of that."

"Relax, Chloe. You're both adults. I'm not _that_ out of touch."

"Just keep the screaming to a minimum," said Chloe's dad.

"Gross, Dad!" exclaimed Chloe, laughing.

Beca grew redder and redder at this exchange. Her family wasn't nearly this open about sex, and it was a little strange to see Chloe joke with her parents about it.

When they were alone in Chloe's room, the two sat on the bed.

"Is your family always this open?" asked Beca.

"About sex?" asked Chloe. Beca nodded.

"Yeah, I guess. I am a little surprised they had just figured we'd want to share a bed, but I never got the 'wait until you're married' speech. My parents told me sex was healthy and natural, but it was also a big decision. I actually came to my mom before I'd ever had sex with my first boyfriend. She took me to the doctor and got me on the pill."

"Wow," said Beca. "How old were you?"

"16. I'd been dating the guy since the beginning of our sophomore year. We ended up doing it on prom night in our junior year. Cliche, I know."

"I think it's sweet. My parents told me I could talk to them about sex, but I never felt comfortable doing so. They probably figure I slept with Jesse because we were together for so long, but I never told them."

"I'm sorry you felt that way with your parents."

"It's okay."

Chloe turned so she was straddling Beca in her lap and started to give her a deep kiss. Beca returned the kiss but pulled back before things could go further. "Chloe, not now."

"Why not?" asked Chloe with a pout.

"I realize your parents are okay with this, but I'm not terribly comfortable doing it in the middle of the afternoon when anyone could walk in."

"My door locks."

"Chloe, seriously. Can it wait until tonight?"

"If you say so, but I'm holding you to it."

Beca gave Chloe a chaste kiss. "You got it. Now, let's unpack a few things and then go downstairs and join your family. I want to spend some time getting to know your parents before tomorrow's party."

The two headed downstairs to talk to Chloe's parents. "So, Chloe tells me she was a figure skater when she was a kid," said Beca.

"Oh, yes," said Chloe's mom. "She saw Tara Lipinski win the Olympics when she was a little girl, and she begged us to enroll her in skating lessons as soon as we could."

"Do you have any pictures?" asked Beca.

"I thought you'd never ask," said Chloe's mom as she pulled a photo album off the bookshelf. She flipped a few pages before handing the book to Beca. "Here."

Beca saw a little girl missing her two front teeth with two red curly pigtails smiling in a bright blue figure skating dress with a silver medal around her neck. "Chloe, when was this?"

Chloe thought for a minute. "I think that was my first season competing, so I was 8, I guess. I got silver in the skating rink's competition."

"That's so cute!"

Chloe took the book from Beca and flipped a few more pages. "Here's where I won gold in the state competition when I was 10. My front teeth had grown in by then, and I'd graduated from pigtails to a bun."

"That's adorable. I bet you felt really grown up then."

"I'm sure I did."

"So, when did you stop competing?"

"Just before I started high school. I still loved skating, but I didn't want to dedicate my life to the sport. I joined the school choir and dance team. No regrets. It's probably why the Bellas seemed like an obvious choice for me."

"I'm glad. You know I only joined the Bellas because of an agreement with my dad, right?"

Chloe shook her head. "What agreement?"

"Well, when I graduated high school, I didn't want to go to college. My mom didn't have much money after she and my dad split. I wanted to move to LA and be a music producer, but I didn't have the money to do it myself. My mom couldn't help me either. I could go to Barden for free, seeing as he teaches there, so my dad said he'd help me move to LA if I gave college a try for a year. I couldn't just enroll. I had to attend classes and get decent grades, and he insisted I join one club to really experience college. I liked singing, so I auditioned for a capella. The High Notes also invited me to join, but I didn't think my dad would count my joining a bunch of singing potheads as a real club."

Chloe laughed. "No, probably not. I should thank your dad for insisting you join a club."

"He'd probably get a kick out of that."

"So, what made you stay?"

"Well, my dad was right. I really liked college once I'd joined the group. You nerds really had a hold of my heart. And, honestly, getting a degree is really going to help. I learned a lot that's really going to help me become a producer."

"Do you still want to move to LA?"

"I do, but not yet."

"Why not?"

"I want to see if my internship in Georgia becomes a real job first. My dad and Sheila and Sam are there. I hardly saw my dad because of how far away he moved when he and my mom divorced, and we're making up for lost time. And, you're in Georgia."

"Beca, I'm sure there is a need for vets and vet techs in LA."

"I know, but you have a job, and all I still have is an internship."

"Okay, but please talk to me if you ever want to move there. We'll figure it out together."

Beca gave a shy smile. "I will."

Chloe's mom joined the conversation. "So, Beca, do you have any pictures of Sam? He's your stepbrother, right?"

Beca flipped through her phone and found a selfie Sam had taken of them when she and Chloe had taken him to an arcade.

"He's adorable."

"Yeah, he's a great kid."

"How old is he? Do you see him a lot?"

"He's ten, and he's always there when I visit my dad and Sheila. I try and visit every week or so. His father died when he was two, so he lives with my dad and Sheila full-time."

"It must be rough for him to not even remember his father."

"I guess it is. To be honest, I haven't brought up the topic with him. My dad has really stepped in and filled the role, though. Sheila keeps pictures of Sam and his father around the house, so I think that probably helps too."

"And it sounds like you're quite the big sister."

"I guess. I love the little dude, but we haven't really lived together. We're close, though. As you can see, Chloe doesn't mind bringing him along sometimes."

"Well, we're glad. We hope to meet him sometime."

"Yeah, it was a shame the graduation was when he was in school. There was some standardized test he couldn't get out of taking. He was so disappointed, but I honestly think he would have had a hard time sitting still through a four-hour ceremony."

"I bet."

Chloe's mom made her daughter's favorite lasagna recipe for dinner. Beca declared it the best lasagna ever. The family spent the evening getting to know Beca and playing board games. Chloe was really competitive, and she made a big show of doing victory dances any time she won a game. Beca couldn't help but chuckle. Chloe was too cute, and she was sure the ass-shaking was done to torment her girlfriend for insisting they wait until the evening to have sex.

* * *

At the party, Beca was surprised to see that the graduation cake also had her name on it. They'd even spelled it correctly.

Beca spent the party right next to Chloe, and Chloe proudly introduced Beca to all of her relatives as her girlfriend. Beca was unusually quiet at the party, but she promised Chloe she was okay. Beca didn't have nearly as big a family as Chloe. Chloe was an only child like Beca, but she had a lot of cousins, aunts, uncles, great aunts, and great uncles. Her parents and grandparents each had several siblings. Chloe's mother had had some complications with her pregnancy and had been advised not to have any more children after Chloe. A few of her great (or not-so-great, as Chloe would sometimes say) uncles and aunts made a few faces and some inappropriate remarks about Chloe dating a girl, but the two graduates ignored them.

One crazy uncle made the most ridiculous comment of all, and it had nothing to do with Chloe dating a girl. He asked Chloe what she was going to do now that she'd graduated.

"Well, I just got a job," she said.

"You're not going to college?" said Uncle Jim.

"Uncle Jim, this is my _college_ graduation party!" said Chloe.

"Uncle Jim, I told you that last week!" said Chloe's dad. Uncle Jim simply shrugged and walked toward the food to get another plate.

"Chloe, was he kidding?" asked Beca.

"No, I don't think so."

"How did he not realize this was your college graduation party?"

"I'm not sure. I know it was on the invitations my parents sent. Maybe he mixed me up with one of my cousins."

"Weird," said Beca.

"At least he didn't ask me why I was dating a girl."

"Maybe he didn't notice."

"Anything's possible," said Chloe.

Chloe had a great time showing Beca around Tampa, and the two had even taken a couple of days to visit the Disney parks. Beca had never been before. Chloe convinced Beca to ride It's A Small World, and Beca told her she would be singing it that night if the song wouldn't leave her head by then. Beca got Chloe to ride Space Mountain, and Chloe spent a lot of the ride screaming and clinging to Beca. Beca wasn't entirely convinced Chloe wasn't acting extra scared as an excuse to hang onto her.

Beca felt like a member of their family by the time they'd left Florida, save for trying to remember which of Chloe's cousins was which and who belonged to who. Chloe admitted she wasn't even sure about some of them herself.

* * *

After returning to Georgia, Beca and Chloe were together nearly every night. They spent most evenings at Beca's because Fat Amy had practically moved in with Bumper. Beca had even cleared a dresser drawer and some closet space for Chloe so she wouldn't have to bring an overnight bag all the time.

One night when they'd had plans, Chloe had to work late at the animal hospital. There was an emergency with a patient, and they needed all hands on deck. Beca immediately understood and told Chloe she'd see her the next day.

Shortly after dinner, Beca got a call from a number she didn't recognize. She picked it up and was surprised to hear Jesse on the line. He was away on vacation with the Treblemakers and was very drunk. He had just gotten a new phone. Beca was lonely and missing Chloe, so she let him ramble. He babbled on a bit about his trip with the Trebles for a bit before moving on to a more pathetic topic of conversation.

"I miss you," he said.

"I can't say the same about you," she said.

"You know this thing with Chloe is a rebound, right?" said Jesse. Beca smirked when she remembered the shocked look on his face when he'd seen her kissing Chloe at the ICCA finals.

"It isn't. We have real feelings for each other. This is serious," said Beca.

"Well, to me, it's a rebound," said Jesse. Beca rolled her eyes. _Since when did I ask for his opinion?_ she thought.

"It's not," said Beca.

"So, what, are you gay now?"

"Bi, if you must know. I still like men. Just, not you."

"I'm still attracted to you," said Jesse.

"That's not my concern," said Beca angrily.

"I still think of you when I-"

Beca cut him off. "Gross, Jesse!" She shuddered at the thought.

"Have you slept with her yet?" asked Jesse.

"None of your business."

"So, that means yes. Is she better than me?" Beca was annoyed, but Jesse was correct in his guess.

"Of course."

"Oh. Really?"

"Yeah. She's amazing, but she wouldn't appreciate it if I went into detail about it."

Jesse changed the subject. "You know I didn't mean to break up with you that night," said Jesse. "I meant 'This is your last chance. Don't fuck it up.'"

"What?" asked Beca.

"Yeah, I was going to give you one more chance," said Jesse. Beca wasn't even sure what Jesse even meant by "one more chance." One more chance to do what? She wasn't even going to ask.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm a lot happier now that we're through."

Beca's call waiting beeped. It was Benji. "Is Jesse bothering you?"

"Yeah, but I can handle it," said Beca.

"Are you sure? I would have stopped him if I'd realized he was drunk dialing you."

"Thanks, but I can get him to hang up," said Beca.

"Okay, but contact me if he won't stop bugging you," said Benji.

"Sure will," said Beca before hanging up. Jesse was still on the line.

"I'm sorry," he slurred. Beca decided she'd had enough.

"That's enough, Jesse. We're through. You broke up with me. Now go away." She hung up. Luckily for her, Jesse didn't call back.

* * *

The next morning, Beca woke up to an e-mail from Jesse titled "Stupid Drunk Loser." She generally ignored all of Jesse's attempts to contact her, but this was too delicious not to read.

 _From: Asshole  
_ _To: Awesome DJ_

 _Subject: Stupid Drunk Loser_

 _I'm really sorry for bothering you last night. I'd had too much to drink, and I missed you. I should have had someone take my phone away. I'm not sure what I said, but I regret all of it. I miss you, but I'm trying to respect your wishes and leave you alone._

 _I still want to be friends someday, though._

 _Sorry again,_

 _Jesse_

Beca made sure to block Jesse's new phone number, just in case he did something stupid again. She entertained the thought of sending him a short reply, but she decided against it.

Beca went to Chloe's apartment that night. Aubrey had invited Stacie over as well, and they'd decided to make it a double date and eat dinner together. Chloe made her mom's lasagna recipe because Beca had liked it so much when they were in Florida.

"So, Chloe, what happened at the clinic last night?" asked Beca.

"Oh, it was awful. This guy brought in his dog. He wasn't eating and had been vomiting. We did x-rays and found something in his stomach. Dr. Kelly had to open him up. It was a long sock."

"The poor thing!" exclaimed Stacie. "How did he get that?"

"I think the guy said he had three daughters, all of whom play soccer, so it was either a soccer sock or a knee-high girl's sock."

"Oh my goodness! I bet those girls are getting a lecture about leaving their socks on the floor," said Aubrey."

"I'm sure they are. Dr. Kelly said she would be going over some ideas to keep Baxter away from the socks as well."

"Is he okay now?" asked Beca.

"He will be. Dr. Kelly is going to keep him at the clinic for a few days to monitor him, but I think he's out of the woods now."

"That's great," said Stacie. "So, Beca, what did you do with your free night?"

"Well, believe it or not, I was talking to Jesse."

Chloe looked at Beca somewhat angrily. "What?"

"Chloe, relax, it's not what you think. He drunk-dialed me."

"I thought you blocked his number," said Chloe.

"He got a new phone and number. The new one's blocked now."

"Did you hang up on him?" asked Aubrey.

"No," said Beca with a sigh. "I was lonely and missing Chloe. I didn't know he was the one calling, and I guess curiosity got the better of me when I realized he was drunk off of his ass."

Beca looked to see her friends all just looking at her with shocked faces. She went on to tell them the short version of their conversation.

"He sent me this e-mail this morning. I didn't reply." She pulled up the e-mail on her phone and let the girls look at it.

"Oh my god, that's pathetic," said Stacie.

"I can't believe he drunk-dialed you and then sent this e-mail," said Aubrey, laughing.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there last night," said Chloe.

"It's okay," said Beca. "I'm glad you helped with Baxter. I'm pretty sure Jesse won't be bothering me anymore."

Beca's expression turned thoughtful. "You know, I think I know why Jesse was being such a pain. I think he'd blurted out that he didn't want to date me anymore, and he'd expected me to beg for forgiveness or something like that. I threw him for a loop when I didn't. I know he hooked up with a few exes after breaking up with them, and I guess he was hoping maybe I'd do the same thing."

"Why would he think that?" asked Chloe.

"I guess he never knew me at all," said Beca. "My father never liked him, and I guess he was right."

"Your dad likes me, right?" asked Chloe.

"Of course he does. Who wouldn't like you?" Beca gave Chloe a chaste kiss.

Stacie and Aubrey made fake gagging noises. "Okay, enough, you two," said Stacie. "You realize we're trying to eat?"

"Ha ha," said Beca sarcastically.

Everyone finished their dinner, and the four of them closed out their evening with a game of Cards Against Humanity. Beca was shocked to see some of the card combinations submitted by Aubrey. That girl had a way dirtier mind than Beca could have imagined.

* * *

The summer went on. Beca and Chloe had fallen hard and fast for each other. They spent a long weekend away at the beach, and Beca had blurted out "I love you" in the middle of one of their many lovemaking sessions. Chloe had immediately said it back. It was the first time either one of them had said it, even though Beca had had that feeling for a while. When Beca realized she had told Chloe I love you while they were making love, she was concerned that Chloe would question her sincerity.

"Chloe?" asked Beca as she laid in Chloe's arms.

"Yeah?"

"I meant what I said. I love you."

"I love you too, Beca. I'm so glad you told me, though. I was worried it was said in the heat of the moment."

"I wanted to tell you this weekend. Just, not in the throes of passion."

Chloe pulled Beca into a tighter embrace. "It's okay. I love you so much, and I'm so glad we're getting this time together."

"Me too," said Beca. "I love you, Chloe."

* * *

A/N: The "Uncle Jim" story from Chloe's graduation party happened to me with one of my uncles. It was too funny a story not to put into the fic!


	6. Chapter 6

Summer ended, and Beca was still working as an intern. She'd hoped to have a full-time job by Labor Day, but that didn't happen. She'd begun to look for temporary work as she was beginning to lose hope of Residual Heat ever hiring her as a full-time producer. Her father had stopped helping her pay rent when she graduated, and her paycheck as an intern wasn't cutting it.

This problem had been compounded when Beca had come home from the internship one day in mid-September to find all of Fat Amy's things gone from the apartment and her bedroom empty. She'd immediately texted Fat Amy, and she'd simply replied that she'd moved in with Bumper. Beca was even more stressed when she'd realized she would be responsible for paying all of the rent.

She called Chloe to vent.

"Hi, Beca."

"Hey, Chlo."

"What's up?"

"Fat Amy is a jerk."

"Did you find her underwear on the couch again?"

"Not this time. She moved out."

"What?"

"She moved out," Beca repeated. "I came home from the studio and all of her stuff was gone. No note or anything. I texted her and she told me she'd moved in with Bumper."

"She's been at Bumper's more than she's been at your place ever since we graduated. I'm not surprised."

"I'm not surprised she moved out, but I can't believe it didn't occur to her to tell me beforehand!"

"Beca, this is Fat Amy we're talking about. Consideration for others isn't really her thing."

"Yeah, but this is a bit much, even for her. How am I going to pay my rent? Residual Heat doesn't pay me much."

"Well, funny you should mention that."

"Why?" asked Beca.

"Aubrey and Stacie were talking to me this morning. They didn't have class, and I didn't work until noon. Stacie wants to move in. She said she'd share a bedroom with Aubrey. I was okay with that, but then I started wondering if you'd thought about living together. I make enough to help with the rent, and I'm sure something full-time will come through once Residual Heat or some other studio finds out how amazing you are."

"That's actually a pretty good idea. You're here all the time anyway. Are you sure you want to be here full-time? And can Aubrey and Stacie handle the rent?"

"I love waking up next to you, and I sleep so much better when we're in the same bed. I would love to do this every day. Aubrey and Stacie should be okay. Stacie's Ph.D. program pays living expenses, and Aubrey's parents are still helping with rent while she's in law school. I'll ask Aubrey and Stacie first, though."

"I feel so much better already," said Beca. Her call waiting beeped. It was Emily. "Hey, Chloe, Emily's calling on the other line. I'll see what she wants and talk to you later, okay?"

"Sounds good. Love you!"

"Love you too!"

* * *

Beca answered Emily's call. "What's up, Legacy?"

"So, we have a capella auditions this Friday. Can you and Chloe help? I'm a little nervous about picking a whole new group of Bellas all by myself."

"I'm off Friday, so I'm definitely in. I'll have Chloe check her work schedule. I can ask Aubrey and Stacie too if you want."

"All four of you? That would be really cool if you could help."

"I'm happy to help. I'm sure you'll find great girls, but I'm happy to give you my input."

"Thanks."

"How's your songwriting going?"

"I think I finished writing Flashlight. Do you think you could help me produce it? Maybe I could even get the new group to sing it this season."

"I'll try. Why don't you come back to the apartment with me after auditions? We can have some dinner and discuss the auditions. I can try and use my recording equipment to make a cut of the song."

"That's a great idea. I miss you guys."

"We miss you too. I'll text you when I hear from the other three. See you on Friday!"

* * *

The next day, while Beca was at her internship, she got a text from Chloe asking her to call her when she got home. She grabbed her mail and sorted through it before calling Chloe. There was a pile of mail for Amy. She wasn't surprised Amy hadn't bothered to forward her mail. She dialed Chloe's number.

"Hey, Becs."

"Hey, Chlo. Did you talk to Aubrey and Stacie?"

"Yes. They're fine. I think they're secretly happy they won't have to watch their volume with me moving out. Not that they're great at watching their volume as it is. If the decibel level they hit when they know I'm around is their version of watching their volume, I feel sorry for the neighbors after I move out."

"I'm surprised my neighbors never complained about Bumper and Amy."

Chloe laughed. "You're not exactly quiet, you know. Any neighbors complain about us?"

"I recall a certain someone screaming my name last weekend. And, no, the neighbors haven't complained," said Beca, laughing.

The two women arranged for a bunch of friends to help them move. Beca's dad also agreed to help, as did Stacie's two older brothers. They got a few other alumni from the various Barden a capella groups who still lived in town to help everyone move for the promise of beer and pizza afterward.

That Friday, Beca, Chloe, Aubrey, and Stacie took the afternoon off to sign paperwork for Chloe to take over Amy's part of the lease and to remove Chloe from her lease with Aubrey and add Stacie. The apartments were in different complexes, but they had the same management company, making the entire process very quick and easy.

The four of them headed to Barden afterward to watch the a capella auditions with Emily. They agreed beforehand that they would let Emily take the lead in decision-making, only nudging her if they felt she'd made a huge misstep. They wanted her to have the confidence to do everything without their help the following fall.

Emily chose the song "Timber" for the audition song, hoping maybe she'd find some new recruits who could rap as well as sing.

They sat through auditions, and a lot of the usual things happened. There was one girl who cried through most of her audition, a few who were backup singers at best, as well as quite a few really talented singers. There were three girls who were also really good rappers.

As the auditions came to a close, the group decided to meet at what was about to become Beca and Chloe's apartment. They grabbed some Chinese takeout on the way back for everyone to share.

They discussed the auditions. Emily did a good job picking out a few members, finding the four Bella alumnae agreeing with almost all of her decisions. They convinced her to let a few other girls into the Bellas, encouraging her to invite a few over their suggested limit of twelve girls. There was almost always an overlap of two or three groups wanting certain singers, and she had no way of telling if everyone offered a position would accept it.

When they were done dinner, Beca took Emily into her room and set up her laptop and mixing program. She had Emily sing, and she recorded some backup vocals using all five girls' voices. She mixed the track, but she decided it wasn't quite what she wanted. She played it for everyone.

"Beca, you should play this for your boss," suggested Chloe. "Maybe this can get him to hire you as a full-time producer."

"If I'm going to do that, I really need to do it in the studio. They have much better equipment," replied Beca.

"Don't you have a key?" asked Chloe with a sly grin.

"Well, yeah," said Beca. She thought for a moment. "I guess I'm not totally breaking the rules if we go there. But, everyone, please be careful. I'm definitely not getting hired full-time if someone breaks something, and I'm sure I won't even keep my internship if that happens."

After everyone promised to be careful, she took everyone to the studio in her car.

She and Emily sat at the mixing table and discussed further improvements for her track. Beca had everyone record their vocals again, starting with Emily.

"Get your cute butt in the studio, then," said Beca. "Don't tell my boss that we're in here, by the way."

Emily stepped into the recording booth, her eyes wide as saucers. She put the headphones on and looked around. "This is...wow, it's the real deal."

"Yeah, don't touch anything, Legacy. You're very pretty, but you seem clumsy."

Emily gave Beca a "thumbs-up" and began recording. Beca moved quickly getting the vocals recording, and she had the track the way she liked it by the end of the evening. She played it for her friends when she was done, and they agreed she should share it with her boss. She and Emily agreed they would meet at the studio that Monday morning to present it to him.

They all headed home as everyone except Emily would be moving the next day.

* * *

Moving day went pretty well. They started around 10 am. Beca's dad helped everyone organize things, and they managed to have everyone's things in the right apartments by dinnertime. They all went to a pizza place near Barden that had counter service and sold beer by the pitcher.

"Wow, this is so much easier than when we helped Jesse move," said Benji.

Beca looked at him. She asked, "When did you help Jesse move? And where? Wasn't he supposed to be in LA now?"

"Oh, that was last week," said Benji. "I thought Amy told you."

"Why would Amy tell me? She didn't even tell me she was moving out."

"I didn't know that," said Benji. "So, I guess you don't know that Jesse lives with Amy and Bumper now."

"Maybe that's why she didn't tell me," said Beca.

Benji shrugged. "Could be."

Benji went on to explain that Jesse's job in LA had fallen through and that he'd moved in with Bumper and Amy as he'd already ended his lease. He was enrolling in grad school while looking for a full-time job.

Beca was awfully surprised that Jesse had ended up living with Bumper and Fat Amy. She knew that he and Bumper had been friends, but she had a feeling Jesse didn't know what he was in for. Fat Amy had been difficult enough to live with, but it had been worse when Bumper would stay over.

The four women split the check before heading back to their new living arrangements.

Beca and Chloe were relaxing on the couch. It had been a long day, moving Chloe's things into Beca's apartment, and then Stacie's things into Aubrey's apartment. Beca was glad her father had thought ahead and helped everyone organize. She was sure that they'd still be moving boxes and furniture if he hadn't.

"Remind me to thank my dad for being so efficient," said Beca.

"Why don't we thank him by having Sam over for a sleepover once we're settled a little better?" asked Chloe.

"I guess that would be good. You don't mind having my ten-year-old stepbrother stay overnight? You do realize that sex is out of the question that night, don't you?"

"I think we can handle that. Your dad just sacrificed an entire Saturday to help us. It's the least we can do."

"Okay, I guess he'll take Fat Amy's old room. We can set up your old bed there. Maybe one of us should sleep on the couch?" asked Beca.

"Why don't you just ask your dad and Sheila?"

"Because I'd rather not admit to my dad that we're having sex."

"Beca, your dad isn't stupid. We didn't even have him help put my bed together, and we spent a long weekend away at the beach."

"Okay, you have a point. But I don't know if he and Sheila are comfortable with Sam knowing we share a bed."

"Just ask," said Chloe.

"I will," said Beca. "Speaking of sharing a bed..."

Chloe didn't answer, choosing to grab Beca's hand and lead her to their bedroom instead.

* * *

That Monday, Emily met Beca at the studio at 9 am sharp. They played the track for Sammy, Beca's boss, watching anxiously as he listened.

"Okay, so you produced this," said Sammy, pointing to Beca.

"Uhhh...yes. Emily wrote it," said Beca.

"Who's Emily?" asked Sammy.

"I am," said Emily.

"This tall drink of water right there," said Beca, pointing to Emily.

"Well," said Sammy. He paused. "I don't like it."

Beca's face fell and she felt sick to her stomach. Sammy went on before Beca could comment.

"What it is...is I don't like it when people can do what I can do. In a manner of speaking, it's threatening. But, you just did it. And I have a few notes that I assume you're open to," said Sammy as Beca and Emily nodded. "But this is a solid demo with real potential. Yeah, I look forward to working together." He shook hands with Beca and then Emily. "It's nice to meet you...what is it? Stephanie? Elizabeth?"

"Emily."

"Good job, Reggie," said Sammy. "You've got yourself a full-time job." He left the room to take a phone call.

"I'm Reggie," Beca whispered to Emily.

Emily squealed and hugged Beca.

* * *

 _Two weeks later_

Beca and Chloe had unpacked enough of Chloe's things, set up her bed in the second bedroom, and had the apartment in good enough shape for Sam to stay overnight. Beca had asked her father and stepmother for their opinion on the sleeping arrangements, and they felt that it would be okay if they shared a bed around Sam.

Sheila dropped Sam off Friday evening, and he was nearly vibrating with excitement. He'd never been to Beca's apartment before, save for an occasional, very short visit. Beca just didn't trust Fat Amy to be a good influence on her impressionable stepbrother.

"Thanks for taking him overnight, you two. It's all he's been able to talk about this week!"

"Oh, we're happy to have him. It's the least we can do," said Beca.

Chloe pulled out her phone and opened up the Redbox app. "Hey, Sam, why don't you pick out a movie to borrow?"

Sam scrolled through the list and pointed. "Paranorman! That one!"

Chloe made the reservation for a Redbox location near Sam's favorite takeout pizza place. "Okay, it's reserved. Do you want to come with me to get the movie and some pizza?"

"Is Beca coming too?"

"Sure, dude. We'll take Chloe's car, though. You've been in mine plenty," said Beca.

"Can we listen to your stuff?"

"Of course," said Beca.

Chloe ordered pizza for pickup through an app on her phone. She and Sam insisted pineapples belong on pizza while Beca stood firmly on her stance that they do not. Chloe ordered a Hawaiian pizza for her and Sam to share, sticking with a pepperoni pizza for Beca. She also got them a two-liter bottle of Coke, knowing that Beca didn't feel comfortable drinking beer around Sam.

The three of them got back to the apartment and Chloe got the movie started while Beca set the pizzas on the kitchen counter. She poured drinks for everyone and got out some plates. She set the food on the coffee table.

"Beca, we're going to eat in front of the TV?" asked Sam.

"Yup."

"Wow! Mom and Francis _never_ let me do that!"

"Well, it's a special occasion," said Chloe.

Sam furrowed his brow. "It is?"

"Sure, your first sleepover at our place," said Chloe.

"Cool," said Sam, grinning.

They began the movie, and they all agreed it was pretty funny. After a while, Sam turned to Beca. "You know, Beca, Norman's sister Courtney sounds a lot like you."

"She does not," said Beca.

Chloe replayed the last few seconds of the movie. "Sam's right."

"You two are crazy."

"Seriously, Beca," said Sam. "Come on, say 'You are _such_ a loser!'"

Beca deadpanned, "You are such a loser."

"Come on, Beca," said Sam. "Like the movie character."

Beca sighed. "You are _such_ a loser!" she exclaimed, putting a ditzy expression on her face and twirling her hair.

Chloe and Sam doubled over in laughter. "Sam's right," said Chloe in between giggles. "She sounds exactly like you."

"Great. I sound like an annoying ditzy movie character." Beca secretly liked this, though, because it made her girlfriend and stepbrother laugh.

They spent the rest of the time watching the movie, occasionally pausing it to see if Beca could imitate Courtney. She got the impression dead-on a few times, each of them causing more and more laughter from the two.

It was getting late by the time the movie ended. Sam was yawning. "Come on, Sam, let's get you to bed," said Beca.

"But, I'm not tired," whined Sam. He followed this comment with a big yawn.

"Nice try, dude," said Beca. "Go get changed and brush your teeth. My dad and your mom will kill me if you come home tired."

Sam yawned again. "Okay." He padded into the second bedroom and emerged a few minutes later in his Spider-Man pajamas. He brushed his teeth, hugged both girls good night, and headed to bed.

Beca and Chloe cleaned up the pizza, saving the leftovers in the fridge.

"He's too cute," said Chloe.

"Yeah, he wormed his way into my heart from the beginning. I was worried when I found out Sheila had a son, but he's quite the charmer."

"You're so good with him," said Chloe. "Do you ever think about having kids?"

"Sometimes," said Beca. "You?"

"I definitely want kids."

"I think we did pretty well with this one tonight," said Beca. "I'm sure parenting is harder than that, though. It's not the same when you're not the fun stepsister."

"I'm sure it's not," said Chloe.

"We should get to bed ourselves," said Beca. "Sam is an early riser."

Beca and Chloe put on their most conservative pajamas, neither of them wanting to risk Sam coming home and reporting he'd seen anything he shouldn't, and headed to bed.

* * *

Sam was up early, just as expected. Chloe made pancakes for them, letting Beca sleep a little before sending Sam into their room to wake her once they were ready.

"Beca, Beca, Beca, BECA!"

"Sam! I'm up!"

"Chloe made pancakes. Get them before they're cold!" he yelled before running back into the kitchen.

Chloe brought Beca a cup of coffee as soon as she entered the kitchen. "Good morning, sunshine," she said, giving Beca a peck on the cheek.

"Ewwww...you're going to get cooties!" joked Sam.

"Hey Sam, can a girl give another girl cooties?" asked Chloe.

Sam turned thoughtful. "I have no idea," he said. He took a bite of his pancakes. "Chloe, these are awesome!" he hollered.

"Sam, I mean this in the nicest way, but please tone it down," said Beca. "I'm not awake yet."

"Sorry, Beca," he said in a quieter voice. "I'm just excited. What are we going to do today?"

"Well, I thought maybe you could come and see my recording studio. We can't stay long, though. I can show you my office and maybe play a track. There's a lot of expensive equipment, though, so you absolutely can't touch anything. Do you think you can do that? It's really important that you follow the rules."

Sam's head bobbed up and down excitedly.

"I can take you to the animal hospital where I work," said Chloe. "We have some animals we are boarding while their owners are away. Would you like to play with some?"

"Cool!"

"Okay, then get dressed and brush your teeth when you're done breakfast," said Beca. "And pack up because I'm going to bring you home later."

"Do I have to go home? I want to stay with you another night," whined Sam.

"It's just one night. Maybe we can talk about a whole weekend some other time. Besides, I bet Michael will want to hang out later," said Beca.

"Hey! Can Michael come with me for the next sleepover?" asked Sam.

"I don't know about that. We'll have to think about that and talk with his parents before that happens," said Beca.

"Okay," said Sam. "He just thinks you're the coolest."

Beca smirked. "Of course I am," she said, tousling Sam's hair. "Now, go get dressed. If you spend forever here, we won't have time to do what we planned."

"All done," said Sam. "I'll go get dressed." He made a beeline for the bedroom to get dressed.

Chloe and Beca cleaned up the breakfast dishes before heading to their bedroom to get themselves dressed for the day.

"What do you really think about having Sam and Michael over for a sleepover?" Chloe asked Beca quietly.

"Michael's a pretty cool kid. He lives on their street, and he rode in my car with Sam at his last birthday party. I don't know about the two of them for a whole weekend, though. That's a lot," replied Beca.

"Maybe we can keep both of them overnight sometime. What about a whole weekend with Sam?" asked Chloe.

"I can probably handle that. We'd have to make sure Sam had some stuff to entertain himself, though. Are you okay with that?"

"Oh, totes. He's really fun."

The two women got dressed and found Sam sitting on the couch, watching the Captain Underpants cartoon on Netflix. "This show is so funny!" he exclaimed.

"I'm sure it is, but we need to get going. You can watch Netflix at home. Let's go see my office," said Beca.

Sam stopped the show and turned off the TV. He held up his overnight bag. "Okay, Beca, I'm all packed up."

"Let me just take a quick look around the room to make sure you didn't forget anything," said Beca. She walked back into the living room a couple minutes later. "All good. I'll text my dad if I find anything later. Let's go!"

* * *

Sam was wide-eyed as he walked through the recording studio. "Beca, this is even cooler than the stuff you use at home. What do those levers do?" Sam asked, pointing to the mixing board.

"Careful, buddy. Remember not to touch anything," said Beca. Sam nodded and pulled back his hand. "Each of these manages something different for each track. That one changes the volume, and that one changes the speed. If the beats don't line up the right way, the track sounds awful."

"Wow," said Sam. "Can I hear something?"

"I'll play the track that got me the full-time job here," said Beca. "This one is called Flashlight. Emily wrote it – she's the one who was new last year. I produced the track. If you listen closely, you can hear both Chloe and me singing."

Sam furrowed his brow. "It's a little hard to tell," he said.

Beca opened her mixing program. "Here," she said. "This is the part that just has me singing." She played the recording she'd done of herself on backup.

"Okay, I hear it."

"This is Chloe," said Beca, turning briefly to smile at her girlfriend.

"You're both really good singers," said Sam. "Is this going to be on the radio?"

"I think so," said Beca. "That's my boss's job to do. I'm not sure the parts Chloe and I recorded will be on the radio version, but you never know."

"That's cool. I have the coolest big sister ever!" exclaimed Sam.

Beca swallowed hard. Sam had never referred to her as his sister before. She choked back a few tears and gave him a hug. She loved him like she imagined she'd love a sibling she'd had her whole life. She hoped that Sam calling her his sister and not his stepsister meant the feeling was mutual and wasn't just a slip on his part.

Beca cleared her throat. "Okay, Sam. Let's head over to the animal hospital," she said. "I'm sure Chloe has at least a few dogs in mind that could use your attention."

Chloe put her hand on the small of Beca's back. Beca could feel Chloe's eyes on her, and she had a feeling Chloe had noticed Beca's reaction to Sam's words. She snaked an arm around Chloe's waist and gave her a small squeeze as they walked to the car.

They headed to the animal hospital. Chloe greeted the receptionist. "Hi, this is my girlfriend, Beca," she said.

Before Chloe could introduce Sam, he piped up. "And I'm Beca's brother, Sam." He shook the receptionist's hand. Beca felt herself getting choked up again.

"Hi, I'm Christy," said the receptionist. "I understand you're here to see some of the dogs we have staying here." Sam nodded vigorously. "I'll have Chloe lead the way."

Beca was still sorting through these new feelings. She took a deep breath and followed Chloe and Sam to the kennel area.

Chloe unlocked a cage with a chocolate lab. "This is Meatball," she said. "Meatball, this is Sam."

Sam giggled as Meatball immediately began licking his face. "Hi, Meatball." He scratched Meatball behind his ears.

"Let's take him out back," said Chloe. She grabbed a rubber squeaky toy on her way out. "Meatball loves this toy. Why don't you see if he wants to play fetch?" She handed the toy to Sam.

"Come on, Meatball!" he exclaimed. He took off running, Meatball following close behind. He tossed the toy. "Go get it!" Meatball came bounding back toward Sam with the toy in his jaw. He was so excited he nearly knocked Sam over.

"They're so cute together," said Beca.

"Yeah, Meatball's great," said Chloe. "So, I couldn't help but notice Sam has called you his sister twice in a period of ten minutes. You okay with that?"

Beca nodded. "I am...it's just taking some getting used to."

"I get that," said Chloe. "How old were you again when your dad married Sheila?"

"Seventeen. I met Sam once before then. He latched onto me immediately. I couldn't help but like the little guy. He was only four when I met him, five at the wedding."

"He's a sweetheart," said Chloe.

"He sure is," said Beca, taking a deep breath. "My brother. I'm so used to saying 'stepbrother.'"

"I'm sure it's okay to say 'stepbrother' if you want."

Beca shook her head. "No. If he's calling me his sister, I'm calling him my brother."

Beca and Chloe let Sam play with Meatball a little longer before putting the dog back in his cage. Meatball immediately walked over to his dog bed, laid down, and curled up in a ball with a sigh. "I think you wore him out," said Chloe.

"I think I did," said Sam. "Do we have time for me to play with another dog?"

Chloe checked the time on her phone. "It's 11:00. What do you think, Beca?"

"I think that would be okay. We should get out of here in about fifteen minutes, though. Maybe we can grab a quick lunch before we take you home."

"Can we go to McDonald's?" asked Sam.

Beca suppressed an inward groan. She didn't like McDonald's very much. Sam had such excitement in his eyes that she couldn't turn him down, though. "Okay, we can go to McDonald's."

Chloe led Sam to another dog cage. This time it was a big Rottweiler mix named Codi.

"This is Codi. She's part Rottie, part black Lab. She likes her stuffed animals." Chloe unlocked the cage. "Hey Codi, get your pink pig."

Codi ran to the back of her cage, bumped a few stuffed toys with her nose, and came back with a stuffed pig in her jaw.

"Good girl," said Chloe. She handed Sam a few small treats to give her. "Go ahead and give her one," she said. "She'll take it right out of your hand."

Sam giggled as Codi licked his hand in search of a treat.

"She likes to play catch."

Sam tossed the treats to Codi and she caught one every time.

After a few minutes, it was time to leave. Chloe led Codi back to her cage, making sure she brought the stuffed pig with her.

"Chloe, that was so fun!" exclaimed Sam.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think Codi and Meatball definitely have a new friend," she said. Sam beamed.

"Come on, let's head to McDonald's," said Beca.

They headed to a nearby McDonald's for lunch before dropping Sam off at home.

* * *

"How was everything?" asked Sheila.

"Oh, it was good. I think we all had a good time. Sorry he's covered in dog hair. He had a good time with the dogs this morning."

"A little dog hair won't hurt any of us. Did you behave yourself, Sam?"

"I did," said Sam. Sheila looked to Beca and Chloe for confirmation. Both nodded.

"That's great," she said. "Did you thank Beca and Chloe?"

"Oops," said Sam. "Thank you for the sleepover. That was so fun!" He ran to both girls, giving them hugs around the waist.

"Okay, now head to your room and unpack," said Sheila.

Sam ran off toward his room. "Best. Sister. Ever."

Beca got choked up again at the term. Sheila looked at her. "Since when did Sam start calling you his sister?"

"This morning," she said. "It took me by surprise. This is the third time he's said it now."

"Are you okay with that?" asked Sheila.

"Yeah," said Beca. "It's taking some getting used to, but I like it."

"Are you sure?" asked Sheila.

"Yeah, I'm sure," said Beca, smiling. Her dad walked into the room.

"Hi, Beca. Was Sam good?"

"Oh, yeah. Possibly a little overexcited, but he was no trouble. Oh, and we took him to lunch at McDonald's."

"You didn't have to do that," said her dad.

"We wanted to," said Chloe.

"That's great, Beca," said her dad. "Sheila and I have something to tell you."

"Do you want me to leave the room?" asked Chloe.

"Only if Beca does," said Sheila. Chloe looked at Beca, who shook her head.

"What's up?" asked Beca, nervously.

"I've decided to adopt Sam," said Dr. Mitchell.

"That's awesome," said Beca. "Does he know? Is that why he's calling me his sister?"

"What?" asked Dr. Mitchell.

"He's called me his sister three times this morning," she said.

"What a crazy coincidence," he said. "No, we haven't said anything to him."

"I think it's great," said Beca.

"Hey, Sam!" called Sheila. "Can you come down for a minute?"

"Sure, Mom!" called Sam.

Sam walked down to the living room and looked at all the serious expression worn by all of the adults. "What's going on? Am I in trouble?" asked Sam.

"You're not in trouble at all," said Dr. Mitchell. "We wanted to ask you if you'd like for me to adopt you. I'll officially become your dad."

"Would that mean my birth father isn't my father anymore?"

"No, Sam," said Sheila. "Jack will always be your birth father, but Francis will be your dad and your last name will be Mitchell. We'll keep the photos of you with your birth father up, and I'll continue to tell you anything you want to know about him. But Francis will officially be your dad, and Beca will officially be your sister."

"So, I'll have the same last name as the rest of you?" Sam asked. The three Mitchells nodded. "This is the best weekend ever!" he exclaimed and proceeded to dance around the room.

"I guess that's a yes," said Dr. Mitchell.

Sam stopped dancing for a minute. "Yes," he said. He gave Dr. Mitchell a hug. "Dad," he said, trying the word out. "Yeah, I like that. Dad." The four adults in the room began to cry happy tears.


	7. Chapter 7

Things rapidly improved for Beca and Chloe over the next few months. Beca's now full-time job paid enough to comfortably cover her half of the rent and other expenses with some left over for other things. She and Chloe went on dates frequently, and they spent a fair amount of time with Aubrey and Stacie. Living together had presented little challenge for the two of them. There was the occasional disagreement over whose turn it was to cook dinner, clean, etc., but they settled quickly into a rhythm that worked well for them.

Beca and Fat Amy's friendship had waned, though. Beca didn't want to be around Jesse, so she never visited. They texted a little, but things were strained. She hadn't seen Fat Amy in person since she had moved out. She hadn't really liked Bumper much, and she'd liked him even less when he'd let Jesse call her from his phone.

It had been nearly a year since Jesse had broken up with Beca. She hadn't heard from him since the drunk-dialing incident. She was surprised to see an e-mail from him in her inbox.

 _From: Asshole_

 _Subject: 7 Rules for living with my roommates_

 _If anyone forwards this to anyone not on this list, she'll pay with her life! Here are the things I've learned about living with Bumper and Amy._

 _If my roommate loses their job, I'm not to comment or make fun of them. However, if I lose my job, my roommates are entitled to calling me a loser and I'm a big baby if I complain._

 _It's perfectly acceptable to have loud sex in the common living areas. The louder, the better._

 _Cleaning up your own mess is optional if you're one of my roommates. It's good to see how high the pyramid of dishes will go before someone gives in and just washes all of them. That someone should always be me._

 _I am an asshole if I'm getting up early for work and I make any noise, but it's cool for my roommates to blast their music at all hours of the night. Their wish to sleep in is more important than my wish to hold down a job and go to grad school._

 _My things do not belong to me. My roommates should be free to "borrow" anything they want. Returning is optional. However, I'm not to touch their things or even change the channel on the TV they're not even watching without their express written permission._

 _My roommates are allowed to get drunk and scream at me for eating stuff they forgot they ate while drunk. My only defense is to start taking videos of this to get them to shut up._

 _If my roommate clogs the toilet, don't expect them to try and unclog it. Just wait for someone else who lives there to find it and fix it. That someone else is always me._

Beca noticed there weren't any e-mail addresses on the e-mail, so he must have bcc'd the entire e-mail list. She wasn't sure who was on it, but she figured Bumper and Amy weren't on it. While the list was awfully passive-aggressive, Beca admitted Jesse's list was full of valid complaints. She'd lived with Amy their entire senior year of college, so she figured Jesse hadn't been making this stuff up. She also knew Jesse well enough to know that he likely hadn't said any of this to Bumper and Amy, save for probably a few passive-aggressive comments. She wasn't sure why Jesse had sent it to her, but that wasn't her concern. She went ahead and forwarded the e-mail to both Amy and Bumper, partly because they deserved to know, but also because she hoped, again, that Jesse would realize they were not friends. It seemed like every time she thought Jesse had finally given up and left her alone, he'd contact her again. She'd blocked his e-mail a while ago, but he'd sent this one from a new address.

Shortly after Beca had forwarded the e-mail, she got a text from Fat Amy:

 _FA: Thanks for the e-mail. Any idea who else got it?  
_ _BM: No. The whole list must have been bcc'd.  
_ _FA: Thanks. Bumper and I will talk to Jesse tonight.  
_ _BM: No problem.  
_ _FA: We haven't seen each other since I moved out. I'm sorry. Can we hang out sometime?  
_ _BM: I don't want to come over when Jesse's there.  
_ _FA: He has class tomorrow night. He won't be home until 8. Why don't you and Chloe come over?  
_ _BM: Chloe has to work late, but I'll come over after work.  
_ _FA: Great. See you then._

The next day, Beca got an e-mail from Jesse that morning. She had waited to block his new e-mail because she wanted to see how the situation played out.

 _From: Asshole  
_ _To: Awesome DJ_

 _Subject: RE: FWD: 7 Rules for living with roommates_

 _Well, I should thank you. I talked with Bumper and Fat Amy last night, and we sorted things out. I don't get why you did that, though, when I asked you not to._

 _\- Jesse_

Beca was glad for everyone that they'd talked, mainly for Fat Amy's sake. She'd been a pain in the ass when they'd lived together in college, but she didn't deserve for Jesse to e-mail a list of complaints about her and Bumper to a bunch of people. She replied to Jesse's e-mail, possibly against her better judgment.

 _From: Awesome DJ  
_ _To: Asshole_

 _Subject: RE: RE: FWD: 7 Rules for living with roommates_

 _I don't know why you sent me the list in the first place. I'm not your friend. I sent it to Bumper and Fat Amy because they had a right to know._

 _\- Beca_

Jesse replied back.

 _From: Asshole  
_ _To: Awesome DJ_

 _Subject: RE: RE: RE: FWD: 7 Rules for living with roommates_

 _I'm glad you're not my friend. That was a test of friendship, and, well, you failed!_

 _\- Jesse_

Beca laughed at his reply.

 _From: Awesome DJ  
_ _To: Asshole_

 _Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: FWD: 7 Rules for living with roommates_

 _I've never been happier to fail a test in my life. The worst part of the breakup by far was your insistence on the two of us remaining friends, despite my repeatedly telling you I did not want to be your friend._

 _\- Beca_

Jesse replied.

 _From: Asshole  
_ _To: Awesome DJ_

 _Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: FWD: 7 Rules for living with roommates_

 _I didn't know any better way to keep you._

 _\- Jesse_

With that, Beca blocked this new e-mail address. There really was no talking to Jesse, and she'd wasted enough time trying already.

Her visit with Bumper and Amy started off pleasantly. Bumper apologized for letting Jesse use his phone to contact Beca after she'd blocked him. He hadn't been aware that Jesse had been bothering her. Jesse had fed him some sob story, and Bumper had fallen for it. They thanked Beca for sharing Jesse's passive-aggressive list of complaints, and they assured Beca that she'd done the right thing. He swore he'd only sent the e-mail to Beca and Aubrey. Bumper and Fat Amy had discovered Jesse had had a crush on Aubrey, despite being well aware that Aubrey was dating and living with Stacie. Beca had a fun evening catching up with her old friends. Fat Amy was much easier to have as a friend when Beca didn't live with her.

Fat Amy told Beca she had begun to perform on street corners in downtown Atlanta as "Fat Amy Winehouse." Beca figured this wasn't very lucrative, but Amy insisted that she was bringing in a good amount of money.

"No, really, Beca, you should see what I take home," said Amy.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, it's amazing how many people will throw money into the tip jar when I'm in the zone."

Before Beca could say anything else, Fat Amy left the room and quickly hurried back with a black beehive wig, a red hair ribbon, a black halter top, and leopard leggings. "Here's what I wear. Pretty cool, huh?"

She then stood up and proceeded to sing.

 _I'm a sexy star with a dirty secret..._

Beca put a hand up to stop Amy from continuing. "Okay, Ames, I get the picture."

"I even have my own corner," said Fat Amy proudly.

"You do not," said Bumper. "And I'm sure that $20 bill you brought home yesterday was from those guys with the hot dog cart. I'm guessing they paid you to move."

Fat Amy scoffed. "As if anyone _really_ wants to buy your special line of sports sandals."

"I don't care about those sandals," said Bumper. "Because I'm being brought up to the musical big leagues."

"What?" asked Amy.

"John Mayer just asked me, personally, through an assistant, to sing backup on his new CD. I leave for Los Angeles in," he paused, glancing at his watch. "a few hours, so I better get going."

"But what about living here with me?" asked Amy.

"Sorry, Amy. I'm outta here. Got a collarless leather jacket to buy, maybe some aviators. I might get an earring. I don't know. It's Los Angeles. This is exciting stuff! My life rules!" He left the apartment, not seeming to notice the shocked look on Amy's face.

"Bumper's a jerk. I said it," said Fat Amy. "You know he writes his own fan mail."

Beca felt incredibly awkward to have witnessed this exchange. "Uh...Amy, I think I should go."

"Probably a good idea. Jesse will be back soon. I hope he still has a job. We need to pay the rent. Every month we have to do it."

"Wait, how were you paying rent when we had that apartment in college?" asked Beca.

"I let my dad handle it. But he's in jail now."

"What?"

"Yeah, his latest dodgy scheme finally caught up with him."

"Okay, Ames," said Beca, not sure whether or not to believe the Australian. "I'm going to go. I'd really rather not see Jesse."

"Okay, short stack. It was nice seeing you. Text me later."

"Will do."

Beca left the apartment and headed back to her own. Chloe was working late at the animal hospital, so she heated up leftovers from the previous night's dinner and settled on the couch to watch some television. She was just finishing up an episode of _Orange is the New Black_ when Chloe walked in.

Chloe greeted her girlfriend by leaning over the couch to kiss her on the cheek. "Hey, babe."

"Hey. How was work?"

"It was good. Baxter came in for his last follow-up. He's doing great. You'd never know anything had happened, save for the scar on his belly."

"I hope nobody is still leaving socks on the floor," said Beca.

"Me too. How are Bumper and Amy?"

Beca recounted the details of the visit. Chloe shook her head.

"Crazy," said Chloe. "I feel a little bad for Amy. She could get a job herself, though."

Beca shrugged. "She wouldn't be Amy if she did."

Beca went to the kitchen to put away her dinner dishes. "Chlo, did you eat?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"So, it's not that late. What do you want to do?"

"You," said Chloe.

Beca blushed. "Keep it classy, Chloe."

Chloe giggled and walked up behind Beca, putting her arms around her once she stood up from loading the dishwasher. "So, does that mean no?"

Beca smirked. "Of course not."

* * *

A few nights later, Aubrey and Stacie were visiting the apartment for a movie night. Beca had taken more of a liking to certain movies once she was no longer being told how ridiculous she was for not liking movies. She enjoyed spending time with Aubrey and Stacie a lot, so she didn't mind.

Chloe was flipping through Netflix's newest list of movies while Beca recounted the e-mail Jesse had sent her.

"Oh my god, he sent it to you too!" exclaimed Aubrey.

"Yeah. I'm not sure why. I've told him we aren't friends until I'm blue in the face and then some," said Beca. "I forwarded it to Bumper and Amy."

"So did I," said Aubrey. "He _did_ have some valid complaints."

"I thought so too. Amy's a really tough person to live with, and it was worse when Bumper would stay over. He told me I'd failed the friendship test."

Stacie and Aubrey busted out laughing at this comment. "The friendship test? What is this, middle school?" asked Stacie.

Beca shrugged. "Well, he has the emotional maturity of a 13-year-old boy. And even that's a stretch."

"What did you tell him?" asked Stacie.

"I told him I'd never been happier to fail a test in my life," replied Beca. "I told him how he'd hurt me so much more by trying to force a friendship down my throat. He said he didn't know a better way to keep me."

"What an ass," said Aubrey. "I guess I should be glad he didn't say anything else to me."

"You're lucky," said Beca. "I blocked his newest e-mail, so hopefully he'll go away."

* * *

 _Three weeks later_

Beca was on her lunch break at work when her phone pinged with a text from Fat Amy.

 _FA: Guess who's back?  
_ _BM: Already?  
_ _FA: Yeah. Bumper walked in this morning like nothing happened.  
_ _BM: Wow. Wait, he was supposedly singing backup for John Mayer, right?  
_ _FA: Yes. He won't tell me why he's back. He's acting like he never left.  
_ _BM: Check out John Mayer's Twitter. The buzz is all over Residual Heat.  
_ _FA: What?  
_ _BM: John Mayer was venting about the worst, most obnoxious backup singer ever. He doesn't mention anyone's name, though.  
_ _FA: It has to be Bumper!  
_ _BM: It certainly sounds like him. Okay, Ames, I gotta get back to work. Talk later.  
_ _FA: Bye._

Beca giggled to herself. Bumper was such an ass, and it would be like him to act like the entire situation with John Mayer never happened.

That evening, she got a text from Bumper.

 _BA: I've got some pretty big news.  
_ _BM: What?  
_ _BA: I have been hand-plucked to be put on a waiting list to be put on a very well-known TV singing competition.  
_ _BM: Really?  
_ _BA: Yup.  
_ _BM: Have you told Amy?  
_ _BA: Oh yeah. Wanna know what she said?  
_ _BM: No, but I think you're going to tell me anyway.  
_ _BA: She was like "Oh, Bumper, shut your face and kiss me." And then we did it.  
_ _BM: Too much information._

She laughed and then showed Chloe the texts. "Well, he moved on quickly," said Chloe.

"Do you think they'll put him on the show?"

"They might. They'll probably use the whole 'getting thrown out by John Mayer' story to get ratings."

"Should we tell Bumper and Amy?" asked Beca.

"No," said Chloe. "It wouldn't matter if we did. Bumper just wants to be on television."

"You're probably right," said Beca. She headed to the kitchen. "It's my turn to cook dinner. Tacos?"

"Sure," said Chloe.

* * *

 _One month later_

Beca's phone pinged with a text while she was at work.

 _BA: Watch The Voice tonight.  
_ _BM: Why?  
_ _BA: Because I got off of that waiting list and I'm on it.  
_ _BM: Are you supposed to talk about it? I thought they made everyone sign a confidentiality agreement.  
_ _BA: Oh, I don't know. I had to sign a bunch of shit when I auditioned. I didn't look._

Beca didn't comment further. She had to get back to work. She sent Chloe a text during her lunch break.

 _BM: We should watch The Voice.  
_ _Hot Girlfriend: You hate that show.  
_ _BM: Bumper says he's on it tonight.  
_ _Hot Girlfriend: I'll believe that when I see it._

That evening, Beca and Chloe sat down in front of the TV to watch The Voice with a bowl of popcorn.

"Do you think he's really on it?" asked Chloe.

"Who knows?" asked Beca. "Maybe they left him out of what they actually air."

"If it even happened," said Chloe.

The show began. Just before the commercial break, the announcer said, "He was thrown out of John Mayer's studio for being too obnoxious to be a backup singer. What will our judges think? Find out when we come back!"

Beca and Chloe looked at each other. They could only be talking about Bumper!

After the commercial was over, they saw Bumper on the stage, singing "All of Me."

 _What would I do without your smart mouth  
_ _Drawing me in and you kicking me out  
_ _You got my head spinnin', no kiddin'  
_ _I can't pin you down_

Blake Shelton turned his chair around as Bumper delivered this line. Bumper stopped singing and yelled, "YES!" before going back to his song, becoming increasingly excited as he continued.

 _My head's underwater, but I'm breathin' fine_

Blake Shelton hit the button and turned back around.

"You can't-you can't turn back around!" he yelled. "That's not part of the rules! That's not-"

He desperately ran back to the center of the stage and continued.

 _'Cause all of you loves  
_ _All of me  
_ _Love your curves and all your edges_

Pharrell Williams turned his chair around. Bumper exclaimed, "Thank you so much, Pharell!"

 _Perfect imperfections_

Christina Aguilera turned her chair around and pointed directly at Bumper. He pointed back at her and continued to sing.

 _Give your all to me  
_ _I'll give my all to you._

Blake turned his chair back to face Bumper. Every judge except Adam Levine had turned toward Bumper.

"Adam, turn around! Everybody's doing it, baby, they love me! America loves me! WOOO!"

Adam Levine turned around, looking reluctant.

 _Give your all to me  
_ _I'll give my all to you._

"And I give myself to you! And you! And you! And you! And you, America! Woo!"

Bumper landed in a half-split in excitement, causing all four judges to exchanged shocked expressions.

Blake raised his hand. "Hey man."

Bumper replied, "Yes, Blake."

"What's your name, brother?"

"I don't even know right now," replied Bumper.

Adam Levine added, "Just do me a favor, man. Please, just under no circumstances choose me for your coach. I just want to put that out there." The audience laughed.

"Okay, so you have a _lot_ of personality," said Christina Aguilera. "And I love that."

"Thank you," replied Bumper.

"You're interesting, and I can work with interesting." The audience applauded.

"All of the coaches at my disposal. I'm going to have to choose..." Bumper spun around. "Christina!"

He ran over to Christina and hugged her. It lasted a little longer than it should have, and Christina looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Besties!" Bumper said, facing the camera with his arm around Christina. "Hi, Mom! Hey Amy!" before the camera cut away.

Beca turned off the TV. "That was something."

"I'll say," said Chloe.

"Think he knows how ridiculous he looks?"

"Not a chance," said Chloe.

Beca's phone pinged with a text.

 _BA: Did you see me?  
_ _BM: Yes  
_ _BA: Wasn't I awesome?  
_ _BM: You were definitely something.  
_ _BA: It was great. Christina is awesome.  
_ _BM: Sure. But, why are you already back in Atlanta?  
_ _BA: Oh, they were going to go with me, but they went in a different direction. Not everyone can handle this.  
_ _BM: Whatever you say._

"Well, that confirms it. He has no idea how ridiculous he looks," said Beca, showing Chloe the text conversation.

"It makes him a perfect fit for Amy. They're both nuts," said Chloe.

* * *

The next day, Beca got a call from her dad during her lunch break.

"Hi, Dad, what's up?"

"I have good news."

"Oh?"

"It looks like my adoption of Sam is going to go through. We have a court date this Friday. We're taking Sam out of school for the hearing. Would you and Chloe like to come?"

"Dad, that's great! I'll take off Friday for sure. I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"What about Chloe?"

"I have to ask, but I'm sure she'll want to be there."

"Okay, we're set for 1:00 at the courthouse. We'll meet you there. Please wear something nice."

"I get it. No flannel."

"Thanks, Beca. See you on Friday!"

Beca immediately called Chloe after hanging up with her father.

"Hey, Chloe, guess what?"

"What?"

"My dad's adoption of Sam is going through. There's a court date Friday afternoon. Can you come with us?"

"I'd love to. I'll check with my boss, but it should be fine."

"Great. We'll talk more tonight."

"Okay. Love you, bye!"

"Love you too, bye!"

* * *

That Friday, Chloe and Beca waited excitedly for Sam, Sheila, and Beca's dad at the courthouse. Chloe tried to get Beca to wear a dress, but they compromised and Beca ended up wearing a white blouse and black skirt from Chloe's side of the closet. Chloe had on a blue dress with a white cardigan.

They spotted the family almost immediately. Sam ran up and immediately hugged Chloe and then Beca. "You get to be my sister for real today, Beca! I'm so excited!"

Beca hugged back. "Me too, but keep it down, okay? Inside voice there, buddy."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," said Sam. "Hey, what's that?" he asked, pointing to a gift bag in Chloe's hand.

"Not so fast," said Chloe, pulling the bag away from Sam. "You can have it after the judge signs the adoption."

"I hope it's soon," said Sam.

The five of them waited outside for what seemed like an eternity, even though it was only about fifteen minutes.

"The Mitchell family?" a clerk called. All five stood up quickly.

"That's us," said Dr. Mitchell.

They filed into the courtroom. Chloe took a seat behind them.

The judge swore in the family members and began the proceedings. He asked Dr. Mitchell several questions – Sam's birth date, how long he'd lived with him, etc.

The judge then delivered the final statement.

"Upon consideration of the Petition for Adoption filed by Dr. Francis Benjamin Mitchell for the adoption of Samuel John Dawson born February 17, 2008, in Atlanta, Georgia, and the report and recommendation of the Child and Family Services Agency of Atlanta, Georgia. it appears to the satisfaction of the court that: adoptee is physically, mentally, and otherwise suitable for adoption by the petitioner; the petitioner is fit and able to give the adoptee a proper home and education; the adoption will be in the best interests of the adoptee."

Sam had a confused look on his face.

The judge turned to Sam, a twinkle in his eyes and a smile on his face. "In other words, Sam, Dr. Mitchell is officially your dad!"

Sam cheered and hugged his new dad and sister.

The judge smiled at the family. "I'm very proud to present to you Samuel John Dawson Mitchell. This is my favorite part of family court. Congratulations!"

"Your honor," said Chloe. "Can I take pictures of the new family?"

"Of course," he said.

Chloe snapped a ton of pictures of everyone, including the judge in some of them.

The family headed to Sam's favorite restaurant for a celebratory dinner.

Sam was so excited he could barely focus enough to order his dinner, much less eat it.

"Chloe, Beca, can I have my present now?" Sam asked.

Chloe looked at Beca, who nodded. "Okay, Sam, here you go," she said, handing over the gift bag.

Sam pulled out a backpack, much like the one he already used for school for the past few years. It was green, and it had the initials "SJDM" embroidered on it.

Sam looked at it, taking a second to register the initials. "Wow! My new initials! Thanks, Beca, and Chloe!"

"We thought you should have something to show your new last name," said Chloe.

"Thanks," said Sam. "I'm so glad you're my real sister now, Beca."

Beca, who had managed to hold off the tears through the entire adoption proceedings, burst into tears and wrapped her new brother in a tight embrace.

"Beca, why are you crying?" asked Sam.

Beca gave a watery laugh. "I'm just so happy."

"You're happy that you're my sister now for real?"

"Yeah," said Beca.

"Me too," said Sam, hugging his sister even tighter.

* * *

A/N: The judge's statement was taken from an adoption decree I found online for Washington, DC. I couldn't find one for Atlanta, GA.


	8. Chapter 8

Beca and Chloe were chatting over breakfast one morning.

"Hey, Beca."

"Yeah, Chloe?"

"So, you know what next Sunday is, right?" asked Chloe.

Beca flipped through her phone calendar. "Oh, right! It's our dating anniversary. Well, unless you count Jordyn's wedding."

"Nah. That was fun, but I don't really consider that our first official date."

"Yeah, I'm not sure that one counts either," said Beca. "So, does this mean you have something in mind?"

"Yeah. How about we recreate our first date?"

"I like that. I won't be a nervous mess this time, though," said Beca.

"You were cute, and I was just as nervous as you were," said Chloe.

"Seriously?"

"Totes. You didn't see how many times I changed my mind about my outfit, my hairdo, everything before I left to pick you up."

"How have we not had this conversation? And did you know I was nervous?"

"I have no idea why we haven't talked about this. Yes, I noticed you were nervous. You tried to hide it, so I just played along. Did you really not know how to ice skate?"

"I didn't. I went roller skating a lot as a kid, but I never went ice skating. I agreed to ice skating when you asked because I was so excited to go on a date with you, I just agreed to the first thing you said."

"You grew up in Maine, and you never ice skated?"

"Chloe, you grew up in Florida and you were a competitive figure skater."

"Good point," said Chloe. "I have to head to work. I'll make sure the rink has an open skate next Sunday, okay?"

"Great. See you when I get back from work tonight," said Beca.

Chloe planted a chaste kiss on Beca's lips before heading out the door. "Love you, bye!"

"Love you too, bye!"

* * *

Beca walked into the apartment that evening. "Chloe, I'm home!"

Chloe greeted her girlfriend with a tight squeeze. "Glad to see you. How was work?"

"More of the same. You?"

"Good. I got to meet a cute dachshund named Jingles. I think he might be my new favorite patient. He was such a good boy, I gave him extra treats."

"Chloe, you have a new favorite patient every day."

"What can I say? I'm lucky I get to work at a job I love with some super awesome animals. Seriously, though, Jingles was the cutest."

Chloe ladled chili from the crock pot into a bowl for each of them. She handed one to Beca. "Here, have some dinner."

"You haven't eaten dinner yet?"

"Nope. I was waiting for you."

"Thanks."

The two ate their dinner quietly before Chloe broke the silence. "So, while I was waiting for you to come home, I checked the open skate times at the rink. They don't have any evening times on Sundays, so we'd have to go during the day."

"That's fine," said Beca. "I know we both have to work Monday morning, so we can get home earlier that night." She added, "At least I won't come home to a sock on the door and Bumper and Amy making the headboard bang."

"Oh, gross," said Chloe. "That happened after our first date?"

"It happened most nights Bumper was over."

"Ewww," said Chloe, scrunching up her nose. "I bet they're driving Jesse crazy."

"Not anymore," said Beca. "Amy texted me a few weeks ago and said Jesse moved out without telling them."

"Did you point out that she did the same thing to you?"

"I did, but she didn't comment on that. I guess she'll never learn."

* * *

It was Sunday, and it was their dating anniversary. Beca sometimes felt like she should pinch herself. Even after a year of dating, she didn't know how she'd gotten so lucky to have Chloe as her girlfriend. She felt that more than usual because of the significance of the day.

The rink had an open skate at two. Chloe had had the idea that they should wear what they wore on their first date. Beca pretended not to remember, not wanting to confess to Chloe that she'd committed nearly every single detail of their date to memory. She smiled as Chloe went through her drawers and closet, tsk-tsking her for not remembering.

The two women headed to the ice rink. They laced up their skates and got out on the ice. Beca took a few laps to get her feet under herself, but she quickly remembered how to stay on her feet. She still held Chloe's hand for most of the session, occasionally slowing down to exchange a few chaste kisses. There were a few kids out on the rink who giggled at the two of them every time they kissed.

They headed to Denny's afterward, and this time Beca wasn't too nervous to eat.

"Not too nervous to eat this time, huh?" Chloe teased.

"Definitely not," said Beca, laughing as she looked at her empty plate.

"Do you mind if we get dinner too this time? Buffalo chicken strips aren't quite enough," said Chloe.

"Fine with me," said Beca. The two ordered dinner.

"Pancakes for dinner, Chlo?" asked Beca, smirking.

"I can't believe I'm dating someone who doesn't appreciate breakfast for dinner," said Chloe.

"I can't believe I'm dating someone who thinks pineapples belong on pizza," said Beca.

"Beca, even your own brother agrees with me," said Chloe.

"Since when was my eleven-year-old brother an authority on food?"

"Since he agreed with me about pineapples on pizza."

Beca shook her head. "So many crazy people in my life."

"You love me."

Beca turned serious. "I sure do," she said, looking deeply into Chloe's eyes.

The waitress came by with their dinners, breaking the spell.

As the two began their dinners in silence, Beca got into her head. She knew what she wanted to do and was almost sure it would go well, but what if it didn't? She felt a knot begin to form in her stomach, and she put her burger down. She'd only taken a few bites.

"Becs, what's wrong?" asked Chloe.

"Nothing," she answered quickly.

"Doesn't look like nothing," said Chloe.

"I'm just in my head," said Beca. "I'm okay."

Chloe reached across the table and squeezed Beca's hand. "You know you can talk to me, right?"

"I know," said Beca. She took a deep breath. "Okay, let's finish our food. I'm good."

Chloe shook her head. Beca could still feel Chloe's eyes on her, but she just focused on trying to finish her burger and fries.

* * *

They finished their dinner and got in the car. A thought went into Beca's head, and she decided to go with it.

"Hey, Chloe. Do you mind if we make another stop before we head home?"

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just something I wanted to do."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. I'll direct you." Beca directed Chloe to a jewelry store.

"What's going on, Beca?" asked Chloe as they walked into the store.

"Pick out a ring for yourself."

"What?"

Beca took a deep breath. "I can't plan a proposal, Chloe. So, just pick a ring. By the way, if you do, you have to marry me."

Instead of picking a ring, Chloe burst into tears. Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe.

"Hey, hey. I wasn't trying to make you cry. I can try a real proposal if you want." Beca was worried she'd messed things up by not giving Chloe a real proposal.

Chloe took a few breaths to try and calm herself. "Oh, Beca, that's not it. I'm just so excited. My answer is yes!"

"Yes?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Chloe.

"So, go pick out a ring."

"How much are we working with? Oh, and did you tell my parents? Did you get their blessing?" Chloe was so excited she was rambling super fast.

"Slow down there, Chlo," said Beca. "Don't worry about the money. I just got my first royalty check from Flashlight. Get what you want."

"What about my parents?"

"I didn't think of that before. Shit." Beca had an idea. "You go look at rings. I'll talk to them on FaceTime right now."

Chloe went off with a salesperson to look at different rings.

Beca pulled up FaceTime on her phone. Just when she thought they weren't going to answer, Chloe's parents picked up the phone.

"Hi, Beca. Are we doing this right? Can you see us?"

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Beale. I can see you and hear you."

"Where's Chloe?"

"She's with me. Well, we're in the same store."

"Can we see her?"

"Yeah, in a minute. I'm calling you on FaceTime to tell you we're at the jewelry store. Your daughter is picking out an engagement ring. Is that okay? If not, I can stop her."

Chloe's mom squealed with excitement. _I guess I know where Chloe gets that trait,_ thought Beca. Her father cleared his throat in what Beca was pretty sure was an effort to hide the fact that he'd been getting choked up.

"Wow, Beca! Really? How did you ask?" asked Chloe's mother.

"I told her to pick a ring."

"What?" asked Chloe's mother.

"I'm so bad at this stuff. I knew I couldn't plan a proposal, so I told her to pick out a ring, but that she had to marry me if she did."

"Well, I'm happy if she's happy," said Chloe's dad.

"So do I have your blessing?"

"Oh, yes, of course," said Chloe's mom. Her dad nodded in agreement. "Can we see her now?"

"Sure," said Beca. She walked over to Chloe. She handed her the phone.

"Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!" exclaimed Chloe.

"Hi, sweetheart! Congratulations! Have you picked out a ring yet?"

"Thanks. I'm still looking, though."

"That's great, honey. We won't keep you. Go pick out a ring and celebrate with your fiancee."

"Wow," said Chloe. "My fiancee. I can get used to that. Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad! Love you!"

Chloe ended the call and turned her attention back to the salesperson.

"Find anything, babe?" asked Beca.

"I'm learning about the four C's of diamonds."

"Oh," said Beca. "I don't know anything about that. Get what you want, though."

"Are you sure?"

"It's your ring. Whatever you want is fine with me."

Chloe looked at many different styles of rings before finally deciding on a white gold ring with a single twist band and an oval cut diamond.

The salesperson took the ring and put it in a box. She handed it to Beca. She said, "You know, you could get down on one knee here."

Beca looked at the woman, wide-eyed. "What?"

"Come on, it'll be a great story to tell your grandchildren!"

Beca blinked a few times before saying, "No thanks. I'll pass."

"Suit yourself," said the salesperson.

Beca paid for the ring and the two women left the store. They headed back to the apartment. Chloe went to put on the ring when Beca stopped her. "Let me," she said.

Chloe smiled and held out her left hand. Beca slipped it onto her finger and both of their faces broke into wide grins.

"It's beautiful," said Chloe.

"Well, you picked it out," said Beca. "You don't mind that I didn't want to get down on one knee in front of everybody in the store, do you?"

"Of course not," said Chloe. "That's not you. That salesperson was nuts."

"Good," said Beca. She pulled Chloe in for a kiss. Chloe broke the kiss a bit more quickly than Beca expected.

"Hey, Beca, before we get too far into celebrating, do you mind if I call Aubrey? She's going to flip out."

"Go ahead. I'll head into our room and call my family."

Chloe pulled out her phone to call Aubrey on FaceTime. Beca began to shut the bedroom door and smiled to herself as she heard both Chloe and Aubrey shrieking in excitement. She was all set to call her mom when she heard Chloe comforting Aubrey. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. She left the door open a crack so she could listen. She could hear Chloe saying, "Aubrey, relax. It will be your turn soon. Stacie loves you. You know that, right?"

Beca heard Aubrey sniffle. "Yes," Aubrey said quietly.

"You know, Aubrey, you could ask Stacie yourself," said Chloe.

"But, what if she says no?" asked Aubrey.

"I seriously doubt that would happen."

Beca shut the bedroom door quietly, feeling guilty for having heard what she'd already heard. She decided she would have a talk with Stacie when Aubrey and Chloe wouldn't be around. In the meantime, she knew she'd better call her family as she'd promised.

She called her mother first, recounting the story of the jewelry store and the crazy salesperson. "Well, it would be just like you to tell Chloe to go pick out a ring," said her mom.

Beca laughed. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Obviously. Text me some pictures of her ring, okay?"

"Will do. I have to go, Mom. I need to call Dad and Sheila and Sam. If I call after Sam's bedtime, he'll be mad that he's missing the announcement."

"Okay, congratulations, honey. We'll celebrate the next time you're in Portland, okay?"

"Okay, Mom. Thanks. Good night!"

Beca called her dad and Sheila and Sam. They were very excited, but, as usual, Sam was the most excited. "So, Beca, what does this make Chloe to me?"

"She'll be your sister-in-law once we're married."

"So, that's like another sister?"

"Kind of, I guess."

"Cool."

Beca could hear Chloe call out to her. "Okay, guys, I should go. My fiancee would like my attention."

"Okay," said Beca's dad. "Good night and congratulations!"

"Thanks, Dad. Good night, guys."

Beca opened the door to find her fiancee standing there. "Hey, Beca?"

"Yeah, Chloe."

"Now that you put this ring on me, how about you take everything off of me?"

"Chloe, that is so cheeseballs."

Chloe looked at her. "I could start without you, you know," she said, walking toward the bedroom.

Beca quickly followed Chloe. "Not necessary," she said, laughing as she caught up with her. She reached for the hem of Chloe's shirt and removed it.

"That's what I thought," said Chloe.

* * *

On Tuesday, Chloe had the afternoon/evening shift at the animal hospital and Aubrey had an evening class, so Beca took the opportunity to call Stacie after dinner.

"What's up, Shorty?"

"Hey, Stace. I guess Aubrey told you our news?"

"Yeah. Congratulations. When's the wedding?"

"We haven't figured that out yet. What about you two?"

"What do you mean 'what about us?'"

"Stacie, cut the shit. I know you love her. Where's Aubrey's ring?"

Stacie got quiet.

"Stacie, come on."

"I guess I was hoping Aubrey would ask me."

"I don't think she has the guts to ask you."

"Why do you think that?"

Beca sighed. "Okay, so, if I tell you something, you have to promise not to tell Aubrey."

"What's going on?" asked Stacie.

"So, when Chloe FaceTimed Aubrey to show her the ring, I was in the other room. I overheard her comforting Aubrey. I didn't hear the entire conversation, but I heard enough to know that she's waiting for you to ask her. She's scared you'll say no if she asks."

"She is?"

"Stacie, this is Aubrey we're talking about. I know you love her and all, but you know how nervous she can be. I don't know what Chloe said to her, other than that she doubts you would say no."

"Of course I would say yes."

"Stacie, you've got to be the one to ask. Sack up, dude!"

"Aubrey told me Chloe said you didn't actually ask her."

"That's right," said Beca with a chuckle. "I took her to the jewelry store and told her to pick out a ring."

"Aren't you just the romantic one, Beca?"

Beca scoffed. "We're engaged, aren't we?"

"I think I'm going to have to actually ask Aubrey."

"Well, that's for you to figure out. Please don't tell Aubrey or Chloe I overheard, though."

"Okay," said Stacie. "I won't. I've got some thinking to do, so I'll talk to you later."

"Chloe will be home soon anyway. Good night!"

* * *

Beca and Chloe were talking after they'd climbed into bed for the night.

"Your brother Sam was so cute at the adoption," said Chloe.

"Yeah, he's something else," said Beca. "I never thought I'd say this back when my parents divorced, but I'm so glad my dad remarried. I got a pretty awesome brother out of the deal."

"You sure did. Maybe we can take him for a whole weekend soon as he asked. What do you think?"

"I think if we ask him in front of my dad and Sheila, he may faint from sheer delight."

"Yeah, maybe you should ask them when he's not around."

"Are you sure about the whole weekend?"

"He's a cool kid. Why not?"

"We've never had an 11-year-old kid for an entire weekend."

"We'll manage. I'm sure we can come up with some fun stuff for him," said Chloe. She thought for a minute. "Hey, we could go to the aquarium!"

"I like that. Let's catch the sea lion show this time since we missed it before. Sam LOVES sea lions."

"Maybe your penguin admirer will be there."

"We can always hope," laughed Beca.

* * *

That Saturday morning, Beca called Stacie while Chloe was working the morning shift at the animal hospital.

"So, how are things?" Beca asked.

"They're good," said Stacie.

"Have you figured out the proposal yet?"

"I think so," said Stacie. "If you don't mind, though, I'd like to keep that to myself. I'll just tell you I bought a ring and I have a plan."

"Do you actually know Aubrey's ring size?"

"It's the same as mine," said Stacie. "After we hung up, I tried a few rings on from her jewelry box and they fit me."

"Sneaky," said Beca.

"Yeah," said Stacie. "Beca, I have to go. Aubrey's going to be home soon and I told her I'd eat a late lunch with her."

"Okay. See you soon. Bye!"

* * *

Beca and Chloe were sitting down to eat dinner on Sunday when Chloe's phone pinged with a text.

"Hey, Beca," said Chloe as she read the text. "Aubrey and Stacie want to FaceTime. Is now okay?"

"Sure, I'll grab the iPad so we can both see the screen."

Beca grabbed the iPad from their bedroom and brought it to the kitchen table. Chloe called Aubrey. When they answered, both Stacie and Aubrey had ice packs held to their foreheads. Aubrey appeared to have been crying, but she and Stacie both had smiles on their faces.

"Guys, what is this all about?" asked Beca.

Aubrey yelled, "Stacie proposed! We're engaged!"

Chloe let out a whoop. "Aubrey, that's awesome! Let me see the ring!"

Before Aubrey could respond, Beca asked, "Why are you two holding ice packs on your foreheads?"

Stacie started laughing. "Aubrey, you tell them."

Aubrey said, "Well, Stacie made me this super romantic four-course dinner with candles, wine, and everything. After dessert, she proposed. I was so excited that I jumped forward to kiss her and ended up head-butting her."

"Only you two," said Beca, shaking her head.

"Let's see the ring," said Chloe.

Aubrey turned the phone to focus on her ring. It had a princess-cut diamond surrounded by sapphires with a design on the band.

"Good job, Stacie," said Beca. "You picked a good one."

"Thanks."

"Congratulations, you two. We'll let you get back to icing your foreheads. We need to eat dinner. Aubrey, you and I will talk wedding details later," said Chloe.

"Okay, text me when you have time to talk," said Aubrey.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I have a new name here on FFN. I changed it to match my Tumblr account. It's still me. I'm just not using AmyP91402 on FFN anymore.

* * *

It was Friday evening, and Beca and Chloe had invited Sam to stay with them for the weekend. Dr. Mitchell dropped Sam off after he got home from work.

"Bye, Dad!" said Sam.

"Bye, Sam! Be good for Beca and Chloe!"

Beca smiled. "Have you gotten used to him calling you Dad yet?"

Dr. Mitchell said, "Just about. Every once in a while it still catches me off guard. Are you and Chloe sure you want to keep him all weekend?"

Chloe answered, "Oh, totes. We have a lot of fun stuff planned."

"Okay. Don't give him too much junk food. And please call me or Sheila if you have any problems," said Beca's dad.

"We got this, Dad," said Beca. "Go!"

"Can I see the ring first?" he asked.

Chloe held out her left hand.

"It's beautiful."

"Thanks, Dr. Mitchell."

"Chloe, I'm about to be your father-in-law. Just 'Dad' is fine."

"Careful, Dad, everyone's going to end up calling you that," joked Beca.

"No, just you three," he said, wrapping Beca, Chloe, and Sam into a hug.

"Okay, Dad," said Sam. "You can go."

"So, I guess that means you want me to leave so you can hang out with Beca and Chloe?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Sam.

"Okay, bye," said Dr. Mitchell. "Do you want us to pick him up on Sunday?"

"We'll drop him off," said Chloe, looking over at Beca. Beca nodded in confirmation.

Dr. Mitchell gave everyone a wave and left the apartment.

The oven timer beeped, and Chloe pulled a lasagna out of the oven.

"Sam," Chloe said. "This is my mom's lasagna recipe. Your sister loves it, so I hope you do too."

"Yum," said Sam. "I love lasagna!"

The three ate while Sam excitedly talked about school and his adventures with his friend Michael.

"So, what do you want to do tonight?" asked Beca.

"Do you mind if we just hang out here?" asked Sam. "Maybe we can watch something."

"Fine with us," said Chloe. She pulled up Netflix on their TV. "You pick."

Sam went through the list and chose _Sing_.

"Well," said Beca. "If I'm going to sit through a movie with you two, at least it has animals and singing."

The three of them watched the movie, laughing at the animals' antics.

After the movie was over, it was time to get Sam to bed.

Beca and Chloe headed to their bedroom, talking quietly so they wouldn't wake Sam. They went over the weekend plans, not wanting to talk about them in earshot of Sam.

Chloe pulled up the aquarium website on her laptop to order tickets when she gasped.

"What's the matter, Chlo?"

"Look who's performing at 6 tomorrow at the aquarium."

"The Barden Bellas? Why didn't Legacy tell us?"

"Do you think we should surprise her?"

"Yeah. I think Sam will get a kick out of the performance, just as long as he doesn't miss the sea lion show. He came to a few Bellas performances when we were in college."

"I bet Stacie and Aubrey would want to join us."

"Text Aubrey and ask, and please ask her to remind Stacie we'll have my 11-year-old brother with us. Sheila and my dad will kill me if she teaches him anything inappropriate."

* * *

The next morning, Beca got up and headed to the kitchen to see Sam. He was at the table, reading the first Harry Potter book.

"Morning, buddy. Have you been up long?"

"Nope. I didn't want to bug you guys, so I thought I'd read for a while."

"Thanks. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Do you have eggs? Mom and Dad taught me how to make them myself. Can I make scrambled eggs?"

Beca thought for a second about whether or not letting her 11-year-old brother use the stove was a good idea. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I promise I'll be careful."

"Okay, go get some eggs out of the fridge and I'll get a frying pan."

To Beca's surprise, Sam got the eggs, grabbed a bowl, cracked the eggs, and scrambled them with a fork like he'd done this hundreds of times. Beca put the frying pan on the burner and heated it up, but Sam did the rest.

"Wow, Sam, how long have you been doing this? You look like an expert."

Sam shrugged. "Mom taught me a while ago. I'm still not allowed to use the stove without an adult around, but I do it by myself when I make them."

Chloe walked into the kitchen as Sam was finishing his eggs.

"Morning, Sam. Did Beca make you some eggs?"

"No, I made them myself." Chloe looked at Beca.

"He did," said Beca. "I just watched."

"That's cool, Sam. Would you like to help me make some brownies this afternoon?"

"Yeah," said Sam. "What else are we going to do?"

"Well," said Beca. "We were thinking of going to the aquarium. There's a sea lion show."

"I want to see the sea lions!"

"I knew you would," said Beca.

"Maybe Beca's penguin admirer will be there," said Chloe.

"You have a penguin admirer?" asked Sam, furrowing his brow. "What's that?"

"I don't. Chloe's just teasing me because a penguin was following me when she took me there shortly after we started dating. I'm not even sure which penguin it was."

They continued to discuss the day's plans. They'd hang around the apartment in the morning and head to the park at the apartment complex for a picnic lunch. They'd come back, bake brownies, and then go to the aquarium and catch a late dinner downtown.

* * *

Sam spent the morning playing his Nintendo 3DS and chatting excitedly about his game to the girls. Neither one was familiar with the game, so they couldn't follow what he was saying.

Chloe packed a picnic lunch, and they walked over to the park. Sam ran straight for the playground, heading straight for a group of kids his age. They seemed to become friends instantly, and Beca watched in awe.

"How did he do that?" Beca asked Chloe.

"Do what?"

"He just walked up to those kids, and now he's joined their game of...whatever it is they're playing."

"You never did that as a kid?"

"Nope. I felt like my walking up to kids caused them to stop playing."

"I'm sorry that happened."

"It's okay," said Beca. "I'm just awkward, I guess. It wasn't until high school that I really had a group of friends. I had one or two friends in elementary and middle school, and that was it. I found a friend group in high school."

"And in college, you had the Bellas."

"Yeah," said Beca.

"Do you think we'll ever get Sam to sit down and eat lunch?" asked Chloe.

"The boy _loves_ food. I'm sure it won't be a tough sell," said Beca. She turned toward her brother. "Hey, Sam! Come and get some lunch!"

"Coming!" replied Sam.

Sam sat down. "This park is fun," said Sam. "You have a lot of cool kids around here."

"We do?" asked Beca.

"Yeah," said Sam. "They're really good at playing tag."

"Cool," said Beca.

Sam finished eating. Beca told him he could play for another hour before they headed back to the apartment.

The three of them headed back to the apartment, the promise of helping Chloe bake brownies proving to be enough to entice him to leave his new friends.

* * *

They went back to the apartment, and Beca went to the bedroom for a bit while Sam and Chloe made brownies. Their kitchen was small, so there wasn't room for three of them to make brownies, and Beca knew she'd just be in the way.

Beca walked out of the bedroom and saw Sam and Chloe playing Uno in the living room.

"I win!" exclaimed Sam. He got up from the couch and began a victory dance.

"Am I the only person in the world who doesn't break out with a victory dance for winning a game?" asked Beca.

"That might be because you never win," said Sam.

"Hey!" exclaimed Beca, crossing her arms in mock offense.

"Sorry," said Sam.

"I'm just kidding, dude. Good job beating Chloe at Uno."

"Thanks," said Sam. The oven beeped and Chloe took the brownies out of the oven.

"Hey, Sam," said Chloe. "We'll let you have a brownie when they cool down since dinner will be late."

"Thanks. You guys are so cool," said Sam. "Can we play another game of Uno while the brownies cool down?"

"Sure, bud," said Beca. "All three of us this time." She shuffled and dealt the cards. Chloe won this time, breaking out into a victory dance.

"You're so weird," said Beca.

"You love me," said Chloe, planting a wet kiss on her cheek. Sam made a face.

"I do," said Beca. She teasingly stuck her tongue out at her brother.

Chloe cut the brownies, asking Sam to pick his piece. He insisted on a middle piece. Chloe chose an edge piece, and Beca went for a corner.

"These are so good!" exclaimed Sam.

"Thanks for helping me make them," said Chloe. "I'll let you take a few of them home tomorrow so you can share with your parents and Michael, okay?"

"That's cool. What time are we going to the aquarium?"

"We have tickets for 4:00," said Chloe, checking the time. Let's head down now so I can park. I know you want to catch the sea lion show. Aubrey and Stacie will meet us there."

"Who are they?" asked Sam.

"They're friends of ours, former Bellas. You'll probably recognize them when you see them," said Beca. "We found out the new Bellas are performing at the aquarium, so we invited them to join us. You don't mind, do you?"

"No, that sounds like fun. As long as we're still going to the sea lion show, it's okay with me."

"Of course we're going to see them," said Chloe. "Let's go."

* * *

They headed to the aquarium. Sam loved the sea lion show.

They headed down to the area where the Bellas were due to perform, finding Aubrey and Stacie already sitting at a table.

They spotted them and immediately sat down.

"Sam, this is Aubrey and Stacie," said Beca, pointing so he'd know who was who. "Aubrey and Stacie, this is my brother Sam."

Sam smiled and shook their hands. "Hi, it's nice to meet you," he said.

"We're glad to meet you too, Sam," said Aubrey. "Hey, there's Emily!"

All five of them turned to see Emily with a group of girls, all wearing the same gold sequined jacket, gold sequined top, and black miniskirt. They all had sparkly gold sneakers with black laces on their feet. When they got closer, Beca noticed they each had a Bella scarf tied around their wrist.

Emily immediately spotted the Bella alumnae, and said, "Hey, Bellas. What are you doing here?"

Beca replied, "Chloe and I are taking my brother Sam for the weekend. We saw on the website that the Bellas were performing, so we thought we'd invite Aubrey and Stacie and surprise you."

"Well, you definitely surprised me," said Emily. "Hi, Sam," she said, shaking the boy's hand.

"Hi," said Sam.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just thought you guys were so busy with your awesome jobs and amazing lives. I should have told you about the performance. I'm such an idiot. I'm sorry."

Before Emily could say anything else, the announcer called, "Coming up next, the Barden Bellas."

"Well, we should probably go get ready, but you guys. I'll see you guys after, okay?"

The new Bellas stood in front of the tunnel and began to sing _Sit Still, Look Pretty_ with Emily taking the lead.

Their singing and dancing were different from the previous year when Beca, Chloe, and Aubrey had led the Bellas. The four alumnae weren't sure what to think.

"They're so bright and shiny," said Sam.

"It's definitely not the way we used to perform," said Aubrey.

Emily waved to her old friends as the song ended.

After the performance was over, they walked Sam around to the other exhibits. This time, no penguin followed anyone, and Sam was disappointed. "Oh man, I was hoping to meet your penguin admirer," he said.

"Me too," said Beca. "You would have gotten a kick out of it."

Emily caught up with the group. "Hey, can we go get some dinner? I'd love to catch up."

"It has to be somewhere we can take Sam," said Beca.

"How about the pizza place we went to last time?" asked Chloe.

"I think that's good. Is everyone okay with Max's Coal Oven Pizzeria?" asked Beca. Everyone agreed. "Okay, Emily, we'll meet you there in an hour."

They finished walking around the aquarium and headed to the restaurant. Beca and Chloe stopped at one point. "Hey, Beca, this is where we had our first kiss," said Chloe. She put her arms around Beca and began to kiss her deeply.

"Ewwww," said Sam, accompanied by gagging noises from Aubrey and Stacie.

Beca and Chloe broke the kiss and laughed. "Okay, guys, we get it," said Beca.

The group got a table at the pizzeria, and Emily joined soon after they were seated.

"Guys, I am so sorry. I should have invited everyone to watch," she said.

"No no no," said Chloe. "You guys were so great, and this was a really nice chance for us to get together."

"Hey, Beca," said Sam.

"What's up?" asked Beca.

"How come Aubrey and Chloe have rings, but you and Stacie don't?"

"I don't know, buddy," said Beca. "I guess that's because Aubrey and Chloe didn't buy them for us."

Sam thought for a minute and asked, "But you're still engaged, right?"

"Of course," said Beca. "I don't need a ring for that."

"Neither do I," said Stacie, giving Aubrey a peck on the lips.

"Ewwww," said Sam. "More kissing!"

Beca smirked and kissed her fiancee.

"Gross!" exclaimed Sam. The five women laughed.

"Enough, dude," said Beca. "We'll stop. Eat your dinner."

After they finished eating, Sam was starting to yawn.

"We'd better get him home," said Beca. "This was really nice."

"I'm glad I got to meet my sister's friends," said Sam. "Even if there was way too much kissing."

* * *

Beca and Chloe dropped Sam off after lunch the next day. They'd managed to catch up with a lot of the same kids he'd been playing with earlier, so he was glad to play one last game of tag before heading home.

Beca walked into her dad's house with a tired-looking Sam.

"What did you guys do?" asked her dad. "He looks wiped out."

"Game of tag at the park in our complex," said Beca.

"I hope he wasn't too much trouble," he said.

"Not at all," said Chloe.

They said goodbye to Beca's family and headed back to the apartment.

Chloe's phone pinged with a text. "Beca, Aubrey wants to go shopping. Do you mind?"

"No, go have fun," said Beca.

Chloe came home with some shopping bags. She put her things away in the bedroom and walked out to meet Beca, who was in the kitchen cooking dinner. She handed her a jewelry box.

"Chloe, is this about what Sam said?"

"Well, yes," said Chloe.

"You know I don't mind, right?"

"I know you don't, but _I_ do. Open it."

Beca opened the box to reveal a white gold ring with a round cut diamond, with white and black diamonds on the band.

"Chloe, I love it. And I love you," said Beca.

"And you say _I'm_ the cheeseball?"

"You are," said Beca. "I guess it's contagious."

Chloe slipped the ring onto Beca's finger and then put her arms around Beca and pulled her in for a deep kiss. Just then, Beca's phone pinged with a text from Stacie. Beca smiled when she saw the message was just a picture of what she'd assumed was Stacie's hand.

"So, you and Aubrey went ring shopping together, didn't you?" said Beca, more as a statement than a question.

"That's what Aubrey texted me about. We hit the jewelry store before going to the mall."

"Aubrey did a good job," said Beca. The ring was white gold with a round cut diamond and some pretty detail on the band.

Beca took a picture of the new ring on her finger and sent it back to Stacie as a response.

 _Legs: Our girls did a good job.  
_ _Tiny Music Producer: Sure did.  
_ _Legs: I plan on thanking Aubrey all night.  
_ _Tiny Music Producer: I did not need to know that.  
_ _Legs: You going to thank Chloe?  
_ _Tiny Music Producer: Maybe  
_ _Legs: You are.  
_ _Tiny Music Producer: Shut up  
_ _Legs: [emoji with tongue sticking out]_

Beca was blushing beet red while reading the text. Chloe snickered at her fiancee. "What's got you blushing?"

Beca wordlessly handed Chloe the phone. Chloe began to type a response when Beca snatched the phone away.

"We are _not_ answering her," said Beca. "But I will do what you typed." Beca winked at Chloe. She deleted the line Chloe typed and put her phone away.


	10. Chapter 10

_About a year later_

Beca and Chloe were getting married. It was surprising to Beca to be getting married at twenty-four years old, especially to someone she'd only officially been dating for two years. She and Jesse had been together nearly twice that long before breaking up, and marriage hadn't been more than a passing discussion. Beca knew she wanted to marry Chloe very early in the relationship. She'd heard people say, "When you know, you know." It certainly rang true to her feelings for Chloe.

The morning of the wedding, Beca was at her dad's. She wasn't worried about it being bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, but Chloe had insisted. It was early, and Sam wasn't even awake yet. She sat up in bed, playing on her phone. She didn't want to wake her dad, stepmom, or brother just yet. She sent Chloe a quick "good morning" text and got one back almost immediately. They texted for a few minutes before Beca ended the conversation. She heard Sam tiptoeing in the hallway. She opened the door to her room.

"Hey, little brother, what's up?"

"Did I wake you up?"

"No, I was up. Just excited, I guess."

"Oh, good. I'm excited too. I get to call Chloe my sister-in-law today!"

"And I get to call her my wife. Let's go get some breakfast."

"Hey, Beca, do you want me to make you some eggs?"

Beca smiled when she remembered how proudly Sam made his own scrambled eggs every time he stayed over at her place. "Sure, dude. Thanks."

Sam started to make the eggs. "So, Beca, all I have to do is hand the rings over when the minister asks, right?"

"That's right."

"And I give a toast at the reception."

"Yes."

"Cool. Being the best man is easy."

Beca chuckled at her brother. He was so funny sometimes. He proudly handed her the plate of eggs. "Thanks, Sam. They look great."

Beca ate her breakfast and commented on how good the eggs were. Sam beamed. He'd never made eggs for Beca before, and she could see how proud he was of himself. She made a pot of coffee and was sipping on a cup of it when her dad and stepmother entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Beca. What do you want for breakfast?"

Sam piped up before Beca could answer. "I made her some eggs, Dad."

"He did," said Beca. "You two taught him well."

"Good job," he said. "Anything else?"

"I'm good," said Beca. "I'm going to go over my vows before it's time to get my hair done."

Before she knew it, Beca was headed to the hair salon to meet her mother. She was getting her hair in an updo with a simple veil, and she had her makeup done professionally as well. She had originally planned to wear a pantsuit, but she found a dress she absolutely loved when shopping for wedding attire. Beca and her mother headed to her dad's to finish getting ready and take some pictures.

The photographer did a bunch of the traditional poses. He got some great ones of Beca with Sam, and he even got a few shots of Beca with her father, stepmother, mother, and brother. Beca really hoped they turned out well because it showed all of the family members who were the most important to her.

He left to get pictures of Chloe with Aubrey (her maid of honor) and her family.

The couple was getting married at Barden's chapel. There was a non-denominational minister there who had performed many same-sex wedding ceremonies.

Chloe was waiting in the bride room in the back of the chapel. Beca went down the aisle with her father, and then Sam walked down the aisle. Aubrey told Chloe and her dad to get ready as Sam was walking down the aisle. Aubrey went down the aisle, and then Chloe and her dad went down the aisle. The fathers gave their daughters a hug and a kiss and then the two brides joined at the altar.

The ceremony was traditional, but Beca and Chloe wrote their own vows. Chloe went first. She said:

"I promise to love and care for you, and I will try in every way to be worthy of your love.  
I will always be honest with you, kind, patient, and forgiving.  
But most of all, I promise to be a true and loyal friend to you.  
I love you."

When it was Beca's turn she said, "Yeah, that sounds good. What she said." The guests all laughed, and Chloe looked shocked. "Just kidding Chloe," she said, earning a smile from her bride.

"I promise to hold your hand every night and to never let us lose our spark.  
I vow to have the patience that love demands, to speak when words are needed, and to share in the silence when they are not.  
I vow to be giving and forgiving, and to make you laugh and to laugh at myself.  
I vow to love you as you love me, through all hardship, darkness, and pain, to reach for our joys, our hopes, and always with honesty and faith.  
I love you."

After the ceremony, they held the reception at the nearby fire hall. The DJ began introductions.

"Please welcome Beca's mother Ellen Mitchell.

Please welcome Beca's father and stepmother, Francis and Sheila Mitchell.

Please welcome Chloe's mother and father, William and Lynn Beale.

Please welcome the maid of honor Aubrey Posen and the best man and Beca's brother Samuel Mitchell.

Ladies and Gentlemen, for the first time ever appearing as a married couple, let's welcome Mrs. and Mrs. Beca and Chloe Mitchell!"

Chloe had insisted on taking Beca's name. She knew how much it had meant to Beca and Sam to share a last name, and Chloe didn't want to take that name away from Beca. The two brides had also insisted the DJ introduce Sam as Beca's brother, not her half-brother. While legally he was only her half-sibling, it wasn't a term either of them ever used when describing their relationship.

The brides shared their first dance to "Could Not Ask For More," sung by their fellow Bellas. There were too many of them to put them all in the bridal party, so they decided to have their Bellas do what they do best – sing. Beca and Chloe quietly sang to each other while they were out on the floor. After the first chorus, the DJ invited all of the guests to join them on the dance floor.

The rest of the music at the reception was done by a DJ – a coworker of Beca's from Residual Heat. Sam gave an adorable toast about what a great big sister Beca had been, and Aubrey cried through half of her toast.

When it was time for the bouquet toss, the brides decided they'd both throw the bouquets and skip the garter toss. The DJ called the single ladies to the floor and fired up Beyoncé's "All the Single Ladies." As the DJ called, "1, 2, 3!" Beca and Chloe made a motion like they were going to throw their bouquets but then they turned around. Instead of tossing their bouquets, Beca handed hers to Stacie and Chloe handed hers to Aubrey. There were a few boos from some of the guests, but the Bellas found this hilarious as Stacie and Aubrey had a wedding planned a month later.

The two brides did the cake cutting, and both drew an arm back like they were going to smash the cake into each other's faces. Both of them stopped just short of smashing the cake and fed it to each other nicely. Beca could hear Cynthia Rose say, "Damn, Conrad. I guess I owe you fifty bucks. I was sure Beca was going to cover Chloe with cake." That had been the original plan, but they had decided not to smash the cake because they didn't want to ruin each other's makeup or risk anyone getting icing up their nose or in their eye. Chloe had found a bunch of YouTube videos of this happening, including one where someone had actually bled, and she'd made Beca promise not to smash the cake.

* * *

Beca's dad took them to their apartment after the wedding to change and grab their luggage for the honeymoon. Chloe carried Beca over the threshold, insisting that it was tradition and that Beca should be the one carried due to her small stature. Beca rolled her eyes, but she obliged.

They spent their wedding night at an airport hotel. Both women had secretly purchased bridal lingerie, and the sets were nearly identical. The lingerie hit the floor in record time, and they consummated their marriage.

"You know, Chloe, we should probably consummate a few more times, just to be safe," said Beca as they were cuddling.

"Oh, totes," said Chloe, as she fixed her lips on Beca's neck. They didn't get a whole lot of sleep due to all of the consummating, but it was worth it.

They got up early for their flight to Florida. They were taking a cruise to the Bahamas.

They had an awesome time on the cruise, checking out the various shows, swimming with dolphins, and even participating in the cruise line's version of "The Newlywed Game." They put them against a couple who had been married about ten years and one who had been married around twenty years. They won! After the game, a lot of people recognized them and congratulated them on their win. The cruise's TV network had been showing the game repeatedly, so even people who hadn't been in the room were seeing it. A few people called them "disgustingly cute," which Chloe loved and Beca pretended not to love. A small number of passengers even asked to take a picture with them.

* * *

They came back from the honeymoon and happily settled into their lives as a married couple. They bought a house the following year. A few years after that, the discussion of kids came up. The decision was made that Chloe would try to carry, as Beca would rather not be pregnant. They were fortunate that Chloe ended up pregnant on the first try, and she delivered a healthy little girl they named Megan. Beca hadn't really given motherhood much thought before getting together with Chloe, but she immediately fell in love with their little girl. Soon after she was born, Beca couldn't imagine life without her.

* * *

Shortly after Megan had turned one, Beca came home from work to find a box of her things on the step. It wasn't much – just a flannel shirt, a few flash drives of mixes she'd made, and a hairbrush. She hadn't seen them in years, and she quickly realized they must have been left at Jesse's place. She'd wanted him out of her life so badly, she had never noticed those items were gone. She rolled her eyes at the sight of the box and brought them into the house. How did Jesse even know where she lived? She figured Amy and Bumper must have told him. She'd have to have a talk with them about that. It had been about six years since they'd split, so this had taken her by surprise. She put the hairbrush in the trash, hung the flannel in the back of her closet, and grabbed the flash drives of music. She played one of them and giggled at herself. She'd learned so much since she'd become a real music producer. They weren't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but she'd definitely gotten better at mixing music in recent years. She saved the files on her hard drive for nostalgic purposes, but then she wiped the flash drives, figuring they'd come in handy for something later.

Chloe came home shortly afterward with Megan, and Beca told her about the box of random stuff from Jesse. She rolled her eyes. After all these years, they were both surprised that Jesse had reached out again.

The next day, Beca came home from work with Megan in tow and was surprised to find Jesse sitting on the steps.

"Jesse, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to make sure you got your stuff."

"I did. So, how did you know where we live?"

"Bumper and Fat Amy told me," he replied. "Can we talk? It's been six years, and I miss you."

Beca wasn't terribly interested in talking, but she didn't want to make a scene or upset her daughter. She sighed. "Okay, Jesse. Come on in."

"So...whose kid is she?"

"She's mine and Chloe's."

"Oh. What's her name?"

"Megan."

"Hi, Megan," he said, looking at the one-year-old.

"Hi," said Megan, burying her face in Beca's shoulder.

"She's funny about new people," said Beca. She put the diaper bag in Megan's room. "Let me set Megan up with a video." She sat Megan on the floor by the TV and found an episode of Sesame Street on the DVR. Once Megan was occupied, she asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

"I miss you," he said. "I'm really surprised you have a kid. I didn't know you wanted kids."

Beca shrugged. "It wasn't something I thought about until I married Chloe. So, Amy and Bumper didn't tell you we had a kid?"

"No," said Jesse. "But that's Bumper and Fat Amy for you. So, Chloe wanted kids and you just agreed to it?"

"It wasn't that simple, Jesse."

"So, how does that work with two girls? Is she adopted? Or was one of you pregnant? And what does she call you?"

Beca rolled her eyes. "For your first questions, that's none of your business. For the last question, I'm 'Mama' and Chloe is 'Mommy.'"

"Oh. Well, she's really cute."

"Thanks."

"So, how's your family?"

"They're good. My dad adopted Sam, so he's my brother now."

" _Half_ -brother," said Jesse.

"Not to either of us," said Beca. "He's my brother."

"But, he's-"

"He's my brother," said Beca. "There's no half."

"That's weird."

"Remind me why I agreed to talk to you."

"Sorry. So, are you going to ask me how I've been?"

"Fine. How have you been?" said Beca. She hoped he'd talk to her briefly and then go away. This was a rotten night for Chloe to be working the evening shift.

"I'm good," said Jesse. "I got my master's and I'm working on some indie films. I also DJ for an internet radio show on the side."

"Oh," said Beca. "Sounds..interesting. How are your parents?"

"They're doing well. They miss you."

"Tell them I said hello." She actually had really liked Jesse's family. She missed them more than she ever missed Jesse after they broke up.

The Sesame Street episode ended and Megan got up and walked over to Beca. "Mama!" she exclaimed.

"What do you want?"

"Eat," she said.

Beca immediately decided cooking was not something she wanted to do that night. "You want pizza?"

"ESSSS!" yelled Megan.

"Okay, we'll order pizza." She looked at Jesse, who was giving her puppy dog eyes. "Do you want some?" she asked awkwardly, hoping he'd say no, but knowing that was unlikely.

"Yeah, pizza sounds good." _Damn,_ thought Beca. _Now I have to tolerate him through dinner. Why did I let him inside in the first place, and why did I offer him pizza? I should have just sent him home so I could feed Megan._

She ordered pizza through an app on her phone. "It should be here soon. I got plain cheese. Megan's not a fan of toppings on her pizza."

"Not my first choice, but okay. Do you still not like movies?" _Jesse's such an ass. How did he not realize I only asked him if he wanted pizza to be nice?_

"I'll watch some if Chloe wants to, but they're not my favorite."

"Do you ever not do what Chloe wants?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I just don't get it. I want to watch a movie, and you act like it's killing you. Chloe asks, and you're all for it."

"That's not even close to what I said. I still watch the occasional movie if Chloe wants to, but she never pushes me to watch a movie if I don't want to."

"Is that what I did?"

"Jesse, you made me sound like the worst person in the world when I told you I didn't like movies. Our entire relationship was us doing what _you_ wanted."

"It was not. Besides, it's weird to not like movies."

"Not to me."

The doorbell rang Beca grabbed the pizzas and paid for them. Jesse didn't even offer to chip in. _Apparently, he hasn't grown out of his selfishness,_ thought Beca.

She sat Megan in her high chair and began to cut up a slice of pizza for her. Jesse attempted to talk to Megan, but she wasn't having it. Every time he looked at her, she'd wail.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing. She just met you."

"She sure does cry a lot."

"Jesse, she's a baby. That's what they do. Stop pushing yourself on her."

They ate their pizza. Megan quieted down once dinner was in front of her. Jesse and Beca updated each other on their families and what they'd been doing. After that, Beca realized she didn't have much to say. She was working in the music industry and enjoying being a mom, while Jesse was working in the movie industry and doing some internet radio. Beca hadn't even realized internet radio was a thing.

Chloe walked in as they were finishing up dinner. Megan yelled, "MOMMY!" and Chloe immediately walked over to her, giving Beca chaste kiss as she took Megan out of the high chair.

"Hi, Megan. Did you eat your dinner or wear it?" asked Chloe as she wiped Megan's face with a paper towel.

"Eat," said Megan.

"That's not what it looks like." Chloe finally noticed Jesse sitting at the table.

"Hi, Jesse. This is...a surprise."

"Yeah, we were just catching up. But, I should probably be going. Nice talking to you, Beca."

"Bye, Jesse," said Beca. She walked him to the front door.

"So, what was that about?" asked Chloe after Jesse left.

"He was sitting on our steps when I came home. I probably should have told him to go away. You're not mad, are you?"

"No. It's okay."

"He's still an asshole, and we have nothing in common anymore except for our past."

"Beca, watch your language in front of the baby," said Chloe.

"Oops."

"Was he that bad?"

"He asked some inappropriate questions and said some things that p-, I mean ticked me off, but it wasn't awful. I really don't want to see him again, though."

Beca removed Jesse from her blocked list on Facebook and messaged him. She thanked him for returning her stuff. He replied asking to hang out, and Beca respectfully declined, explaining to him that she felt like they'd said what needed to be said and no longer had anything in common. He backed off, and Beca allowed him to remain a Facebook friend, but she restricted his access to a lot of her page.

* * *

 _Two years later_

Megan had recently turned three, and Chloe and Beca welcomed a pair of twin boys, Ricky and Tony. Beca had announced the birth on Facebook, and Jesse had sent a message of congratulations. Beca didn't reply, and he didn't say anything else.

Shortly after that, Beca saw Jesse had been posting a bunch of old pictures of them on Facebook. The pictures were pretty tame for the most part, but they were obviously pictures taken when they were dating. Many were even captioned "with an ex." This seemed super weird to Beca, so she asked him to take them down. He acted like she was the weird one for having gotten rid of old pictures of them together. With that, Beca unfriended and blocked Jesse. She hoped this was the last she'd ever hear from him.

She sure felt lucky she'd taken the chance with Chloe. They were happily married and now had three happy, healthy children. She knew life wouldn't be perfect, but she had to admit she wouldn't trade the life she had with Chloe for the world.

* * *

A/N: That's the end of our story! Hope you enjoyed!


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